Family structure and youth illicit drug use, use disorder, and treatment services utilization

Abstract

ObjectivesThe study aimed to examine family structure’s relation to youth illicit drug use, use disorders, and treatment services utilization. MethodsUsing pooled data from the 2015 to 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, we examined the prevalence of youth (12–17 years old) past-year and lifetime illicit drug use (N = 41,579), drug use disorders among each type of drug users (n = 149–5,445), and treatment service utilization among youth with drug use disorders (n = 1,335) across two-parent, one-parent, and no-parent families. Bivariate analyses and logistic regression models were used to compare differences across family structure. ResultsOn average about 25% youth ever used illicit drugs, 20% of the past-year users had a drug use disorder, and less than 10% of the past-year users with disorders received treatment services. Family structure was associated with drug use prevalence, in particular, the use of marijuana, heroin/cocaine/methamphetamine, and hallucinogens, but was not related to the rate of drug use disorders and treatment service utilization, even after adjusting for covariates. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that family structure is associated with youth drug use initiation but not drug use disorders or treatment service utilization. Youth in single and non-parent families are especially vulnerable to drug use initiation and should be specifically targeted by prevention programs.