DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE AMONG TEENS IN NEBRASKA

Facts About Alcohol in Nebraska

Adolescence (12 to 17 years) is a critical and vulnerable stage of human development, during which males and females experience different biological, social, and cognitive changes. During this life stage, millions of adolescents experiment with substance use and engage in behaviors that can affect healthy neurological and psychological development. Understanding the behavioral health differences between adolescent males and females can help to inform public health policy and build prevention and intervention programs that strategically target the different needs of adolescent males and females.

HIGHLIGHTS: ADOLESCENT DRUG AND ALCOHOL ADDICTION IN NEBRASKA
• Approximately 15,000 (9.8 percent) adolescents in Nebraska used an illicit drug in the past month; 9,000 (6.1 percent) used marijuana, and 8,000 (5.3 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana.

• 19.4 percent of adolescents (29,000) used alcohol in the past month, and 13.5 percent (20,000) engaged in binge drinking.

• 4,000 adolescent males and 5,000 adolescent females used pain relievers nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview.

• 7,000 females and 5,000 males needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems; 6,000 adolescents needed but did not receive treatment for drug problems.

• Rates of illicit drug dependence were significantly higher among adolescent females than adolescent males.

• Adolescent females were approximately three times as likely as adolescent males to have
experienced a major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year (12.4 v. 4.4 percent).

The data described in the Adolescent Behavioral Health reports derive principally from national surveys conducted by the Office of Applied Studies, a component of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Sources for all data used in this report appear at the end.

TEEN ILLICIT SUBSTANCE USE IN NEBRASKA
Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States.3 According to the combined 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Approximately 15,000 (9.8 percent) of the 150,000 adolescents in Nebraska used an illicit drug in the past month; 9,000 (6.1 percent) used marijuana, and 8,000 (5.3 percent) used an illicit drug other than marijuana

• There were no significant differences in illicit drug use between adolescent males and females in Nebraska.

The misuse of pain relievers among youth is also a major public health concern.

• In Nebraska, 4,000 adolescent males and 5,000 adolescent females used pain relievers nonmedically in the 12 months prior to the interview

• Rates of past year nonmedical pain reliever use were similar between females and males (6.9 v. 4.9 percent).

Adolescent Alcohol Use and Abuse in Nebraska

• 19.4 percent of adolescents (29,000) used alcohol in the past month, and 13.5 percent (20,000) engaged in binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as 5 or more drinks on the same occasion on at least 1 day of past 30 days.

• Rates of current alcohol use and past-month binge drinking among Nebraska adolescents were similar between males and females; 16.7 percent of males and 22.2 percent of females currently used alcohol, and 11.6 percent of males and 15.5 percent of females engaged in binge drinking in the month prior to the interview.

ADOLESCENT ALCOHOL AND ILLICIT DRUG DEPENDENCE OR ABUSE IN NEBRASKA
According to the 2003–2006 NSDUH:

• Nationwide nearly 1.5 million adolescents were dependent on or abused alcohol in the past year and more than 1.2 million adolescents were dependent or abused illicit drugs.

• Overall, the rates of past-year abuse or dependence on alcohol were significantly higher for females than males (6.0 v. 5.4 percent), but rates of past-year abuse or dependence on illicit drugs were similar between males and females.

• In Nebraska, adolescent females were significantly more likely than adolescent males to have experienced illicit drug dependence in the past year (3.5 v. 0.9 percent).

ADOLESCENT SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN NEBRASKA
State treatment data for substance use disorders are derived from two primary sources: (1) National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), an annual 1-day census of clients in treatment and (2) the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS), which provides information on annual treatment admissions.

According to the 2006 N-SSATS survey:

• Nebraska showed a 1-day total of 4,893 clients in treatment, the majority of whom (4,042 or 82.6 percent) were in outpatient treatment. Of the total number of clients in treatment on this date, 654 (13.4 percent) were under the age of 18.

According to 2003-2006 TEDS data:

• Adolescent males accounted for 67 percent (281) of the 419 total adolescent substance abuse treatment admissions.

• Of the total male admissions, 13.2 percent were drug treatment admissions, 49.1 percent were alcohol and drug treatment, and 37 percent were alcohol treatment.

• Of the total adolescent female admissions, 14.5 percent were drug treatment, 58.7 percent were alcohol and drug treatment, and 24.6 percent were alcohol treatment.

Among adolescent admissions, marijuana and alcohol were the most prevalent substances of abuse.

• Of the total adolescent male admissions, 60.5 percent (170) reported marijuana use, and 85.8 percent (241) reported alcohol use.

• Of the total adolescent female admissions, 65.2 percent (91) reported marijuana use, and 82.7 percent (115) reported alcohol use.

• Further, 15.5 percent (65) of the total adolescent admissions reported methamphetamine use, 8.9 percent (25) of male admissions and 29 percent (40) of female admissions. Also, 4.1 percent of total admissions reported cocaine use, 3.2 percent (9) of male admissions and 5.8 percent (8) of female admissions.

UNMET NEED FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT IN NEBRASKA
NSDUH 2003–2006 estimates that more than 1.16 million adolescents needed but did not receive treatment for illicit drug problems and more than 1.3 million needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems. NSDUH defines “unmet treatment need” as an individual who meets the criteria for abuse of or dependence on illicit drugs or alcohol according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV), but who has not received specialty treatment for that problem in the past year. In 2003–2006,

• Adolescent females in Nebraska were significantly more likely than adolescent males
(2,000 males and 4,000 females) to need but not receive treatment for past-year drug
problems.

• Rates of unmet need for past year alcohol problems were similar between adolescent males and females in Nebraska; 7,000 females (9.2 percent) and 5,000 males (6.4 percent) needed but did not receive treatment for alcohol problems.

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