Use of substance abuse services by young uninsured american adults.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES:This study examined the prevalence and correlates of substance abuse service
use among uninsured young adults aged 18 to 34 years (N=24,282). METHODS:Data were
drawn from the 1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Logistic regression was
used to identify correlates of substance abuse service use among persons who met DSM-IV
criteria for dependence. RESULTS:Among uninsured young adults (N=5,067), 66 percent
lacked any health care coverage for at least one year. In this uninsured group, 72
percent were past-year users of alcohol or drugs (N=2,335). Among past-year alcohol
users (N=2,273), 12 percent met criteria for alcohol dependence; among past-year drug
users (N=864), 21 percent met dependence criteria. Eighty-seven percent of the uninsured
young adults with alcohol or drug dependence did not receive any substance abuse treatment
services in the previous year. In the uninsured substance-dependent group, women,
blacks, and Hispanics were less likely than men and whites to use substance abuse
services. Among those with substance dependence, uninsured persons were more likely
than privately insured persons to receive substance abuse services from the self-help
or human service (nonmedical) sector. CONCLUSIONS:Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities
in the use of substance abuse services are notable among young adults who lack health
insurance.
Type
Journal articleSubject
HumansSubstance-Related Disorders
Data Collection
Logistic Models
Adolescent
Adult
Medically Uninsured
Substance Abuse Treatment Centers
Female
Male
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20038Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1176/appi.ps.56.8.946Publication Info
Wu, Li-Tzy; & Ringwalt, Chris (2005). Use of substance abuse services by young uninsured american adults. Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 56(8). pp. 946-953. 10.1176/appi.ps.56.8.946. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/20038.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Li-Tzy Wu
Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Education/Training: Pre- and post-doctoral training in mental health service research,
psychiatric epidemiology (NIMH T32), and addiction epidemiology (NIDA T32) from Johns
Hopkins University School of Public Health (Maryland); Fellow of the NIH Summer Institute
on the Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trials.Director: Duke Community Based
Substance Use Disorder Research Program.Research interests: COVID-19, Opioid misuse,
Opioid overdose, Opioid use disorder, Opio

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