NCJ Number
218999
Date Published
May 2007
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Based on the results of the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), this study examined youths' (ages 12-17) past-year major depressive episodes (MDE), past year initiation of alcohol and illicit drug use, and the association between MDE and the initiation of alcohol or other drug use.
Abstract
In 2005, 8.8 percent of youths ages 12-17 (2.2 million) experienced at least one MDE in the past year. Among youths who were at risk for initiating alcohol use (those who had not used alcohol previously), those who experienced a past-year MDE were twice as likely to have started alcohol use in the past year compared to those youth who did not have a past-year MDE (29.2 percent and 14.5 percent, respectively). Among youths who were at risk for initiating illicit drug use, those who experienced a past-year MDE were over twice as likely to have started using an illicit drug compared with those who had not experienced a past-year MDE (16.1 percent and 6.9 percent, respectively). This pattern was relatively consistent across drug types. For these estimates, MDE was defined according to the diagnostic criteria of the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. This definition specified a period of 2 weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, along with at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning, such as problems with sleep, eating, energy, concentration, and self-image. The "illicit drugs" covered in the survey were marijuana/hashish, cocaine (including crack), inhalants, hallucinogens, heroin, or prescription drugs used nonmedically. 3 figures and 1 table