Perceived Need for Alcohol or Drug Treatment (Table 12.5)

An estimated 0.6% of the surveyed population aged 12 or older reported perceiving the need for some type of substance abuse treatment in the past year. Perceived need for treatment was significantly higher among 18 to 34 year olds than among those aged 35 or older. Males were twice as likely as females (0.8% vs. 0.4%) to have perceived need for treatment; significant gender differences were found among the 18 to 34 age groups, with males being four times more likely to perceive a need for treatment. In the 12 to 17 age group, males and females were about equally likely to perceive a need for treatment. For the total sample, blacks were more likely than whites and Hispanics, those in the West were more likely than those in the Northeast and North Central regions, adults with less than a high school education were more likely than those with some college and college graduates, and adults who were unemployed were more likely than those who were employed full- or part-time to have perceived the need for treatment in the past year.