Patterns of Mental Health Service Utilization and Substance Use Among Adults, 2000 and 2001

• NCJ Number: 206908
• Author(s): Peggy R. Barker; Joan F. Epstein; Laurel L. Hourani; Joseph Gfroerer; A. Monique Clinton-Sherrod; Nathan West; Weihua Shi
• Date Published: March 2004
• Length: 212 pages
• Contract Number(s): 283-98-9008; 283-99-9018
• Sponsoring Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Corporate Author: RTI International; SAMHSA Ctr for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality
• Sale Source: SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Series: BJA Fact Sheets
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Annual/Periodic)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: SAMHSA Analytic Series: A-22

Annotation

This report presents 2000 and 2001 data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) concerning the prevalence of mental health treatment and substance use among adults aged 18 or older in the United States.

Abstract

The NHSDA is the largest survey of its kind conducted in the United States and serves as the primary source of information on substance use and abuse in the country. The five main objective of the report are to: (1) estimate prevalence rates and characteristics of adults receiving mental health treatment; (2) identify treatments received; (3) identify types of facilities for outpatient and inpatient treatment; (4) examine relationships between mental health treatment and substance use, dependence/abuse, and substance abuse treatment; and (5) describe characteristics of persons reporting a perceived unmet need for mental health treatment. Following the introduction in chapter 1, chapter 2 describes the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of persons receiving mental health treatment. Data for 2000 and 2001 indicate that 10.5 percent of the United States adult population aged 18 years or older received treatment for a mental or emotional problem within the 12 months prior to the survey; 8.3 percent received prescription medication to treat the problem. Chapter 3 compares the characteristics of adults receiving different types of mental health treatment. Chapter 4 reports on the characteristics of persons receiving outpatient treatments. Chapter 5 presents the characteristics of persons receiving inpatient treatment, which reveals that almost 44 percent of adults hospitalized for mental health treatment during the study period spent 5 or more nights in these facilities. Chapter 6 discusses rates of mental health treatment among substance users and nonusers and describes the co-occurrence of mental health and substance abuse treatments. Adults who received substance abuse treatment had 2 to 5 times higher rates of mental health treatment during the past year than those who never received substance abuse treatment. Chapter 7 presents findings on the perceived unmet need for mental health treatment. Tables, figures, references, appendix