Patterns of alcohol and illicit substance use in the United States and Mexico. Substantive and methodologic issues in the cross-national analysis of alcohol and drug use data

This research examines prevalence of alcohol and illicit substance use in the United States and Mexico and associated socio-demographic characteristics. The sources of data for this study are public domain data from the U.S. National Household Survey of Drug Abuse, 1988 (n = 8814), and the Mexican National Survey of Addictions, 1988 (n = 12,579). In addition, this study discusses methodologic issues in cross-cultural and cross-national comparison of behavioral and epidemiologic data from population-based samples. The extent to which patterns of substance abuse vary among subgroups of the U.S. and Mexican populations is assessed, as well as the comparability and equivalence of measures of alcohol and drug use in these national samples.^ The prevalence of alcohol use was somewhat similar in the two countries for all three measures of use: lifetime, past year and past year heavy use, (85.0%, 68.1%, 39.6% and 72.6%, 47.7% and 45.8% for the U.S. and Mexico respectively). The use of illegal substances varied widely between countries, with U.S. respondents reporting significantly higher levels of use than their Mexican counterparts. For example, reported use of any illicit substance in lifetime and past year was 34.2%, 11.6 for the U.S., and 3.3% and 0.6% for Mexico. Despite these differences in prevalence, two demographic characteristics, gender and age, were important correlates of use in both countries. Men in both countries were more likely to report use of alcohol and illicit substances than women. Generally speaking, a greater proportion of respondents in both countries 18 years of age or older reported use of alcohol for all three measures than younger respondents; and a greater proportion of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 years reported use of illicit substances during lifetime and past year than any other age group.^ Additional substantive research investigating population-based samples and at-risk subgroups is needed to understand the underlying mechanisms of these associations. Further development of cross-culturally meaningful survey methods is warranted to validate comparisons of substance use across countries and societies. ^

Cocaine and a changing brain : meeting summary : Ernest Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, LA, October 25, 1997 : sponsored by Division of Basic Research, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health /

"January 1999"--P. [4] of cover.

National Institute on Drug Abuse training grants directory.

Mode of access: Internet.

Patterns and trends in drug abuse : a national and international perspective.

Mode of access: Internet.

Statistical perspectives on drug abuse treatment.

Mode of access: Internet.

A Guide to multicultural drug abuse prevention.

Description based on 2.

Multicultural perspectives on drug abuse and its prevention : a resource book /

Includes bibliographies.

A household survey on alcohol and traffic safety issues. Analytical study no. 7.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Washington, D.C.

Epidemiologic trends in drug abuse : proceedings /

Issues for published in 2 vols.; v. 1 is highlights and executive summary; v. 2 is edited texts of specialized reports; <1999->, v. 2 is proceedings.

Sentencing and public confidence : results from a national Australian survey on public opinions towards sentencing

This paper examines the critical issue of public confidence in sentencing, and presents findings from Phase I of an Australia-wide sentencing and public confidence project. Phase I comprised a nationally representative telephone survey of 6005 participants. The majority of respondents expressed high levels of punitiveness and were dissatisfied with sentences imposed by the courts. Despite this, many were strongly supportive of the use of alternatives to imprisonment for a range of offences. These nuanced views raise questions regarding the efficacy of gauging public opinion using opinion poll style questions; indeed the expected outcome from this first phase of the four phase sentencing and public confidence project. The following phases of this project, reported on elsewhere, examined the effects of various interventions on the robustness and nature of these views initially expressed in a standard ‘top of the head’ opinion poll.

Manpower in drug abuse treatment units, data from the national drug and alcoholism treatment utilization survey (NDATUS) /

Mode of access: Internet.

National Drug Abuse Treatment Utilization Survey (NDATUS) : National drug abuse treatment, insights and perspectives.

Mode of access: Internet.

A Study of volunteers in drug abuse programs.

Mode of access: Internet.