Substance Abuse and Dependence
The recent large-scale National Survey of Drug Use and Health in 2010 found some differences in use and dependence/abuse of alcohol and drugs (SAMHSA, 2012). American Indians were found to have the greatest lifetime (i.e., reporting use of a particular substance at any point in one’s lifetime) and pastyear use of illicit drugs (58.4% and 22.6%, respectively), while Asian Americans had the lowest use (25.2% and 8.7%) (SAMHSA, 2010a).
Whites had the next highest lifetime use (50.9%) followed by African Americans (45.1%) and Hispanics (37.2%) (SAMHSA, 2010a). Similarly, American Indians had the highest percentage of dependence or abuse of drugs and alcohol (6.3% and 14.0%, respectively) and Asian Americans had the lowest percentage (1.3% and 3.2%, respectively) (SAMHSA, 2010b). African Americans had the next highest percentage of drug depen- dence/abuse (4.0%) followed by Hispanics (3.5%) and Whites (2.5%). Hispanics had the next highest percentage of alcohol dependence/ abuse (7.6%) followed by Whites (7.4%) and African Americans (5.7%). It is important to note, however, that because this sample does not provide large numbers of some population groups (e.g., American Indians and Asian Americans), the differences in percentages are not considered statistically significant.Studies evaluating substance abuse within specific age-group populations have found some pronounced differences. For example, American Indian youth were more likely to report lifetime use of marijuana and cocaine and 30-day use of marijuana, cocaine, stimulants, alcohol, and cigarettes (Beauvais, 1992). In addition, the percentages of university students consuming alcohol in the past 30 days were as follows: Asian Americans (59.1%), African Americans (52.3%), American Indians (73.1%), Hispanics (75.3%), and Whites (75.3%; Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention, 2007). Thus, there appear to be some slight differences in the rates of substance abuse and dependence across ethnic groups.