D rug and A lcohol S ervices I nformation S ystem

The DASIS Report May 24, 2007

Adolescent Treatment Admissions

by Gender: 2005

T
he National Survey on Drug Use However, there are distinct differences in
and Health found that the rate of adolescent substance abuse treatment
current illicit drug use is similar for admissions between females and males with
adolescent girls and boys (10 percent each) respect to sociodemographic and substance
with some variation by substance of abuse.1 use characteristics. Differences in adoles-
cent female and male admissions can be
In Brief monitored with the Treatment Episode
Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is an annual
● In 2005, female adolescents
compilation of data on the demographic
accounted for about 44,600
characteristics and substance abuse prob-
of adolescent admissions (31
lems of those admitted to substance abuse
percent)
treatment, primarily at facilities that receive
● Adolescent female admissions some public funding.2 TEDS records repre-
were less likely than adolescent sent admissions rather than individuals, as
male admissions to report a person may be admitted to treatment
marijuana as their primary more than once during a single year.
substance of abuse (51 vs. 72 This report will compare characteristics
percent) of adolescent female to adolescent male
● Adolescent female admissions treatment admissions.
were more likely than their
male counterparts to have a Adolescent Admissions
co-occurring psychiatric and In 2005, there were approximately 142,600
substance abuse disorder (23 adolescent admissions (aged 12 to 17) to
vs. 18 percent) substance abuse treatment, accounting for

The DASIS Report is published periodically by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission from SAMHSA. Additional copies of
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For questions about this report please e-mail: shortreports@samhsa.hhs.gov.
DASIS REPORT: ADOLESCENT TREATMENT ADMISSIONS BY GENDER: 2005 May 24, 2007

8 percent of all treatment admis-

Figure 1. Adolescent Admissions, by Primary Substance of
sions reported to TEDS. Female Abuse and Gender: 2005
adolescents accounted for about
44,600 of these admissions (31 Adolescent Female Adolescent Male
percent) and males accounted for Marijuana
about 98,000 of adolescent admis- Alcohol
Stimulants
sions (69 percent).3 Cocaine
7% Opiates 1% 5%
3% Other 2%
Primary Substance 4% 4%

of Abuse 12% 16%

Marijuana was the most
commonly reported primary
substance of abuse4 in 2005 51%
for adolescents admitted to 23% 72%

substance abuse treatment;

however, adolescent female Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).

admissions were less likely than

adolescent male admissions
Figure 2. Adolescent Admissions, by Race/Ethnicity and Gender:
to report marijuana as their
2005
primary substance of abuse (51
vs. 72 percent) (Figure 1). Adoles- 100
10 7
cent female admissions were
more likely than adolescent male 80 18 19
admissions to report alcohol (23
vs. 16 percent) or stimulants (12 12 21 Other
60
vs. 4 percent) as their primary
Percent

substance of abuse.
Race/Ethnicity
The racial composition of adoles-
cent admissions to substance
abuse treatment varied by gender.
In 2005, adolescent female
admissions were more likely
than adolescent male admissions
to be White (60 vs. 53 percent),
less likely to be Black (12 vs. 21
percent), and almost equally likely
to be Hispanic (18 vs. 19 percent)
(Figure 2).
Age at Admission by
Primary Substance
Female adolescents entered treat-
ment at younger ages than male
adolescents for every primary
substance of abuse in 2005.
40
60
20
0
Adolescent Female
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
For example, adolescent female
admissions were more likely than
adolescent male admissions to
enter treatment at ages 12 through
15 years for alcohol (44 vs. 30
percent) and marijuana (47 vs. 39
percent) (Table 1). Although inhal-
ants accounted for less than 1
percent of all primary substances
of abuse reported by adolescents,
the majority of adolescent admis-
sions entered treatment for this
substance before the age of 16
Hispanic
Black
White
53
Adolescent Male
(females—72 percent; males—69
percent). Furthermore, among
adolescent admissions for inhal-
ants, female admissions were more
likely than male admissions to be
younger than 14 at admission (29
vs. 21 percent).
Source of Referral
The criminal justice system was
the most frequent source of refer-
ral to substance abuse treatment
May 24, 2007 DASIS REPORT: ADOLESCENT TREATMENT ADMISSIONS BY GENDER: 2005

admissions of self- or individual

Table 1. Adolescent Admissions, by Age at Admission, Primary
Substance of Abuse, and Gender: 2005
referrals (21 vs. 16 percent) but
were about as likely to have school
Age at Admission referrals (13 vs. 11 percent).
12-13 14-15 16-17 For both adolescent males and
Primary Substance of Abuse Percent adolescent females, the largest
Alcohol Female 7 37 56 proportion of criminal justice
Male 4 26 70 admissions was among admissions
Cocaine Female 2 27 71 for marijuana (58 and 42 percent,
Male 2 20 78 respectively).
Inhalants Female 29 43 28
Male 21 48 31
Co-Occurring
Marijuana Female 6 41 53
Disorders
Male 4 35 61
Opiates Female 1 20 79 Persons admitted to substance
Male 2 15 83 abuse treatment with both
Stimulants Female 3 30 67
psychiatric and substance abuse
Male 2 22 76
disorders are said to have “co-
Other Female 18 38 44
occurring disorders.”5 In 2005,
adolescent female admissions were
Male 16 34 50
more likely than their male coun-
Total Female 7 37 56
terparts to have a co-occurring
Male 5 32 63
psychiatric and substance abuse
All 5 34 61
disorder (23 vs. 18 percent).
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS).
End Notes
1
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Figure 3. Adolescent Admissions, by Referral Source and Administration, Office of Applied Studies.
(2006). Results from the 2005 National Survey
Gender: 2005 on Drug Use and Health: National Findings
(NSDUH Series H-30, DHHS Publication No.
SMA 06-4194). Rockville, MD.
60 55 Adolescent Female 2
In 2005, TEDS collected data on 1.8 million
Adolescent Male admissions to substance abuse treatment
facilities. Four States and jurisdictions (AK, DC,
NM, and WY) did not submit data for 2005.
39 3
For a more detailed report on trends in
40 adolescent treatment admissions, see
Percent

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services

Administration, Office of Applied Studies.
21 (October 15, 2004). The DASIS report:
Adolescent treatment admissions: 1992 and
20 16 2002. Rockville, MD.
14 13
11 4
The primary substance of abuse is the main
8 7
4 6 6 substance reported at the time of admission.
5
Psychiatric problem in addition to alcohol or drug
0 problem is a Supplemental Data Set item. The
Criminal Self/ Other School Other Alcohol/Drug 26 States and jurisdictions in which it was
Justice Individual Community Health Care Abuse Care reported for at least 75 percent of admissions in
System Provider Provider 2005—AR, CA, CO, DE, FL, IA, ID, KS, KY, LA,
MA, MD, ME, MI, MO, MS, NC, NV, OH, OK, PR,
RI, SC, TN, UT, and WV—accounted for 45
Source: 2005 SAMHSA Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). percent of all substance abuse treatment
admissions in 2005.

for all adolescent admissions;
however, adolescent females
were less likely than adolescent
males to be referred to treatment
through this source (39 vs. 55
percent) (Figure 3). Adolescent
female admissions had a higher
proportion than adolescent male
Suggested Citation
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration, Office of Applied Studies. (May 24,
2007). The DASIS Report: Adolescent Treatment
Admissions by Gender: 2005. Rockville, MD.
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Research Findings from SAMHSA’s 2005 Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS)

Adolescent The Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DASIS) is an inte-
grated data system maintained by the Office of Applied Studies, Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). One
component of DASIS is the Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is

Treatment a compilation of data on the demographic characteristics and substance

abuse problems of those admitted for substance abuse treatment. The
information comes primarily from facilities that receive some public funding.
Information on treatment admissions is routinely collected by State admin-

Admissions by istrative systems and then submitted to SAMHSA in a standard format.

TEDS records represent admissions rather than individuals, as a person
may be admitted to treatment more than once. State admission data are re-
ported to TEDS by the Single State Agencies (SSAs) for substance abuse

Gender: 2005 treatment. There are significant differences among State data collection
systems. Sources of State variation include completeness of reporting,
facilities reporting TEDS data, clients included, and treatment resources
available. See the annual TEDS reports for details. Approximately 1.8 mil-
lion records are included in TEDS each year.

● In 2005, female adolescents accounted for
about 44,600 of adolescent admissions (31
percent)
● Adolescent female admissions were less
likely than adolescent male admissions to
The DASIS Report is prepared by the Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA;
Synectics for Management Decisions, Inc., Arlington, Virginia; and by RTI
International in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina (RTI International is
a trade name of Research Triangle Institute).
Information and data for this issue are based on data reported to
TEDS through February 1, 2006.
Access the latest TEDS reports at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/dasis.htm

report marijuana as their primary substance Access the latest TEDS public use files at:
http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/SAMHDA.htm
of abuse (51 vs. 72 percent)
Other substance abuse reports are available at:
● Adolescent female admissions were more http://www.oas.samhsa.gov

likely than their male counterparts to have U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
a co-occurring psychiatric and substance Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Office of Applied Studies
abuse disorder (23 vs. 18 percent) www.samhsa.gov