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Biomedical subjects

J Gfroerer

Publications and source records attributed to J Gfroerer.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Prevalence of youth substance use: the impact of methodological differences between two national surveys.

This study compared two major Federally sponsored surveys of adolescent substance use and assessed the impact that methodological differences have on the prevalence estimates they generate. The Monitoring the Future Survey, a school-based survey, was compared to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, a household survey of the population aged 12 years and older. Response rates were higher in the household survey due to high rates of refusal in the school based survey. The school survey has a larger overall sample size, but sampling errors more similar than one might expect, because of the larger design effects in the school survey. Rates of drug use obtained were larger in the school survey than in the household survey, possibly because of greater under-reporting in the household setting than in the classroom and the different questionnaires used in the two surveys.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

The drug abuse treatment gap: recent estimates.

There is a widely acknowledged problem of drug abuse in the United States, but there is no widely accepted estimate of the number who need treatment for drug abuse. In this article, the authors present new estimates of the numbers of persons in this country who need and receive treatment. These estimates are derived from improved definitions and statistical estimating methods applied to the national Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDS). There are two separate estimates (based on severity) of people needing treatment, yielding a combined total of 7.1 million people. These new estimates are crucial to better resource planning and allocation.

Data Collection↗
PubMed1997

Studies of nonresponse and measurement error in the national household survey on drug abuse.

A summary of the results of a series of studies of nonresponse and measurement error in the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is given in this chapter. Two studies not previously reported, the Skip Pattern Experiment and the Census Match Study, are the primary focus of the chapter. The Skip Pattern Experiment involved a test of a modified NHSDA questionnaire that made extensive use of skip patterns in drug use questions. Compared to the standard NHSDA method, which avoids skip patterns, the modified questionnaire tended to produce lower rates of reported drug use. The Census Match Study involved linking 1990 NHSDA nonrespondent cases with data from the 1990 Decennial Census. Household and individual data for NHSDA nonrespondents were obtained from the Census and used to characterize NHSDA nonresponse patterns in detail. A multilevel logistic model of response propensity identified the important predictors of nonresponse, including characteristics of the sampled person, the selected household, the neighborhood, and the interviewer.

Bias↗
PubMed1997

The use of external data sources and ratio estimation to improve estimates of hardcore drug use from the NHSDA.

Levels of hardcore drug use have been especially difficult to estimate because of the relative rarity of the behavior, the difficulty of locating hardcore drug users, and the tendency to underreport stigmatized behavior. This chapter presents a new application of ratio estimation, combining sample data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) together with population counts of the number of persons arrested in the past year from the Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the number of persons in drug treatment programs in the past year from the National Drug and Alcoholism Treatment Unit Survey (NDATUS). The population counts serve as a benchmark accounting for undercoverage and underreporting of hard drug users.

Cocaine↗
PubMed1993

Protective and risk factors associated with drug use among Hispanic youth.

Analysis of data from a nationally representative sample of Hispanic youths age 12-17 and their parents was done to investigate the impact of a number of variables on youths' drug-using behavior. The significance of youth, household, and parental characteristics were tested using measures of youth drug use as dependent variables in regression models. Parents' attitudes and use of licit and illicit drugs were found to play an important role in their children's drug use behavior. The results also provide some support for the hypothesis that Hispanic children whose parents are more acculturated into American society are at higher risk of using drugs. Youths of Mexican origin, youths living outside large metropolitan areas, and females were found to be more likely to use drugs. The results provide supportive evidence that for drug prevention education programs to be effective with Hispanic youths, they must be family oriented.

Acculturation↗
PubMed1992

The incidence of illicit drug use in the United States, 1962-1989.

Epidemiological descriptions of drug abuse in the US in the last three decades have generally not included data on the patterns and trends in the incidence of illicit drug use (i.e. new users). In this paper, estimates of illicit drug use incidence are presented, based on retrospective data from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Incidence of marijuana use began increasing in the 1960s and reached a peak in 1973, after which a continuing decline was seen. Cocaine use incidence began to increase in the late 1960s and reached a peak in 1982, then declined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Drug use patterns and demographics of employed drug users: data from the 1988 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

This paper has identified some characteristics of full-time working populations who are at higher risk to be substance abusers. In summary, employed people who use drugs are generally between the ages of 18 and 34. Heavy drinkers fall mainly between 18 and 25 years of age. Males are much more likely than females to use marijuana, cocaine, or other illicit drugs and alcohol on a frequent basis. For males, past month use of any illicit drugs and marijuana was higher among those with the lowest personal incomes. For females, past year use of cocaine was higher among those with the highest personal incomes. Females and males with high personal incomes were also more likely than their low income counterparts to use alcohol on a weekly basis. Industries with high percentages of male substance abusers were: construction, wholesale trade, finance, repair services and professionals. Industries with substantial numbers of female drug abusers were manufacturing, retail trade and professionals.

Accidents, Occupational↗
PubMed1987

Correlation between drug use by teenagers and drug use by older family members.

This study examines the relationship between drug use by teenagers and older family members living in the same household, using data from the National Survey on Drug Abuse. Drug use by teenagers was found to be correlated with drug use by fathers, mothers, and older siblings, in that teenagers were more likely to be drug users if the older adult was also a drug user. Correlations were significant across different drug types, but the most consistent relationship was between marijuana use by youth and marijuana use by the adult.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Setting and counselor type as related to program retention.

Study was made of the relationship between successful treatment outcome and staff:client ratios in two types of treatment settings. Successful treatment was defined as retention in treatment for at least 6 months and program completion. Using a total sample of 5,405 discharged clients, it was found that there were no differences in outcome between community mental health centers and dedicated drug abuse treatment programs for clients whose primary drug of abuse was either an opiate or a nonopiate exclusive of marijuana. Community mental health centers were significantly more likely to retain minority group marijuana clients 6 months or more to treatment completion while dedicated drug abuse programs were significantly more likely to retain White marijuana clients 6 months or more to treatment completion. No differences in outcome were found for any of the three client groups in relation to program emphasis on advanced-degreed professionals as compared to paraprofessionals.

Community Mental Health Centers↗