NCJ Number
221313
Date Published
February 2008
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Findings are reported from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) on past year nonmedical use of stimulants among youths aged 12 to 17 and its association with other illicit drug use, delinquent activity, and major depressive episode (MDE).
Abstract
Highlights of findings include: (1) youths aged 12 to 17 who used stimulants nonmedically in the past year were more likely to have used other illicit drugs in the past year than youths who did not use stimulants nonmedically in the last year; (2) over 71 percent of youths who used stimulants nonmedically in the past year engaged in any of six types of delinquent behavior in that period, compared with approximately 34 percent of youths who did not use stimulants nonmedically in the past year; and (3) almost 23 percent of youths who used stimulants nonmedically in the past year experienced a major depressive episode in the past year compared with 8.1 percent of youths who did not use stimulants nonmedically in that period. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks youths aged 12 to 17 questions related to their use of illicit drugs in the past year, including nonmedical use of stimulants. It also asks how often they engaged in delinquent activities, such as serious fight in school, carrying a handgun, selling illegal drugs, stealing or trying to steal anything worth more than $50, and attacking someone with the intent to seriously hurt them. Questions are also included to assess lifetime and past year major depressive episode (MDE) which is defined using the diagnostic criteria set forth in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV). All findings presented are annual averages based on combined 2005 and 2006 NSDUH data. Figures