NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY ON DRUG ABUSE: cocaine analysis & tables

1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Discussion

In 1997, cocaine continued to be the second most commonly used illicit drug (following marijuana) in the United States. Approximately one-tenth of Americans in the civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older used cocaine at some time in their lifetime, and about 1% could be considered to be current users. The findings in this chapter show that recent (i.e., past year) and current (i.e., past month) cocaine use was more common among young adult males aged 18 to 25 than among all other age-gender groups. About 2% of the males in the 18 to 25 age group were current cocaine users. Additionally, recent and current cocaine use tended to be

higher among adults with less than a high school education and those who were unemployed

Crack use tended to be most common among males,

blacks

, adults aged 18 to 34, and adults who were unemployed.

However, it should be noted that the relationship of cocaine use and the various demographic characteristics should be investigated carefully. The interrelationships among several of these variables are likely to be complex. For example, race/ethnicity is intricately associated with educational attainment and employment status. Multivariate analyses would permit a more thorough examination of the independent contributions of individual demographic characteristics in determining cocaine use.

An especially noteworthy finding from this chapter concerned the prevalence of cocaine use among adolescents (i.e., those aged 12 to 17). First, as reported in Chapter 2 (see Tables 2.5, 2.6, and 2.7), past year use increased significantly from 1996 to 1997 among 12 to 17 year olds (1.4% to 2.2%). Patterns in the rate of initiation also have been changing, especially for the two youngest age groups. The rate of first use for 18 to 25 year olds fell from a high of 30 per 1,000 person years in 1980 to 10 in 1994 (OAS, 1998c, Table 39). Initiation rates among this age group were fairly stable from 1991 to 1994, but started increasing in 1995; the rate in 1996 was 15 per 1,000 person years. For adolescents, the rate of first cocaine usedecreased between 1980 and 1991, but rose from 4 per 1,000 person years in 1971 to 11 in 1996 (OAS, 1998c, Table 39).

Table 4.1 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in Their Lifetime, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	3.0	8.9	18.4	9.9	10.5

Gender
Male	2.7	12.1	21.8	13.0	13.2
Female	3.3	5.6	15.1	7.2	7.9
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	3.5	10.7	21.9	10.9	11.8
Black, non-Hispanic	0.4	2.5	10.4	7.9	6.5
Hispanic	3.0	8.1	10.4	6.9	7.3
Population Density
Large metro	2.5	9.5	19.3	11.1	11.5
Small metro	3.7	8.5	20.4	10.7	11.2
Nonmetro	2.8	8.5	12.8	6.7	7.3
Region
Northeast	2.0	9.7	17.7	8.7	9.6
North Central	2.1	8.2	20.0	9.7	10.6
South	3.3	7.4	15.0	8.0	8.5
West	4.1	12.0	22.9	14.5	14.5
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	14.6	21.4	5.3	8.9
High school graduate	N/A	9.4	18.2	8.4	10.3
Some college	N/A	5.7	21.8	13.4	13.6
College graduate	N/A	5.7	14.0	12.6	12.4
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	10.9	18.3	14.7	15.1
Part-time	N/A	6.7	19.7	6.3	8.7
Unemployed	N/A	10.9	29.2	22.5	20.9
Other⁴	N/A	6.0	14.7	3.3	4.5

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

¹ The category "other" for race/ethnicity is not included.
² Data on adult education are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
³ Data on current employment are not applicable for youths aged 12 to 17. Total refers to adults aged 18 or older (unweighted n=16,661).
⁴ Retired, disabled, homemaker, student, or "other."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 4.2 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in the Past Year, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	2.2	3.9	3.1	1.1	1.9

Gender
Male	2.0	5.7	4.4	1.4	2.5
Female	2.4	2.0	1.9	1.0	1.4
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	2.5	4.6	3.3	1.0	1.9
Black, non-Hispanic	0.2	1.2	4.0	2.8	2.4
Hispanic	2.3	3.6	2.2	1.2	2.0
Population Density
Large metro	1.5	4.4	3.0	1.1	1.9
Small metro	3.2	3.7	3.4	1.3	2.1
Nonmetro	1.8	3.2	3.0	1.0	1.6
Region
Northeast	1.3	3.7	2.4	0.9	1.5
North Central	1.3	3.6	3.4	1.5	2.1
South	2.4	3.3	3.4	0.8	1.7
West	3.3	5.5	3.0	1.6	2.5
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	6.0	5.3	1.3	2.6
High school graduate	N/A	4.2	2.8	1.4	2.1
Some college	N/A	2.8	3.8	1.1	2.0
College graduate	N/A	1.8	1.7	0.8	1.1
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	4.3	2.9	1.3	2.1
Part-time	N/A	3.6	3.5	1.2	2.3
Unemployed	N/A	5.3	7.6	4.5	5.4
Other⁴	N/A	2.7	2.5	0.6	1.0

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

Table 4.3 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in the Past Month, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	1.0	1.2	0.9	0.5	0.7

Gender
Male	0.9	1.9	1.0	0.6	0.9
Female	1.1	0.5	0.7	0.4	0.5
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	1.1	1.2	0.7	0.4	0.6
Black, non-Hispanic	0.1	0.9	1.8	1.7	1.4
Hispanic	1.0	1.5	0.9	0.5	0.8
Population Density
Large metro	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.5	0.7
Small metro	1.3	1.4	0.4	0.5	0.7
Nonmetro	0.9	1.3	1.4	0.4	0.7
Region
Northeast	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.7	0.6
North Central	0.9	1.4	0.4	0.5	0.6
South	0.9	0.8	1.2	0.4	0.7
West	1.5	2.3	1.1	0.4	0.9
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	2.5	1.2	0.4	0.8
High school graduate	N/A	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.7
Some college	N/A	0.6	1.1	0.7	0.8
College graduate	N/A	1.2	0.2	0.3	0.4
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	1.1	0.6	0.6	0.7
Part-time	N/A	1.1	1.3	0.7	0.9
Unemployed	N/A	2.3	3.7	2.0	2.4
Other⁴	N/A	1.1	0.7	0.2	0.3

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

Table 4.4 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in Their Lifetime, the Past Year, and the Past Month, by Age: 1997


		Time Period
Age Group in Years	(Unweighted n)	Lifetime	Past Year	Past Month

Total	(24,505)	10.5	1.9	0.7

12-17 Years	(7,844)	3.0	2.2	1.0
12-13	(2,506)	0.6	0.5	0.3
14-15	(2,750)	1.6	0.9	0.5
16-17	(2,588)	6.9	5.2	2.2
18-25 Years	(6,239)	8.9	3.9	1.2
18-20	(2,404)	8.2	4.8	1.5
21-25	(3,835)	9.4	3.3	1.0
26-34 Years	(4,387)	18.4	3.1	0.9
26-29	(1,875)	12.1	2.8	0.8
30-34	(2,512)	23.2	3.3	0.9
35+ Years	(6,035)	9.9	1.1	0.5
35-39	(1,232)	24.5	3.6	1.6
40-44	(1,081)	17.4	1.7	0.7
45-49	(911)	12.7	0.9	0.7
50+	(2,811)	2.2	0.3	*

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.
*Low precision; no estimate reported.

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 4.5 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in Their Lifetime, the Past Year, and the Past Month, by Age Group, Race/Ethnicity, and Gender: 1997


Race/Ethnicity¹ and Gender	Age Group in Years				Total
Race/Ethnicity¹ and Gender	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total
(Unweighted n)
White, non-Hispanic male	(1,957)	(1,381)	(781)	(1,488)	(5,607)
Black, non-Hispanic male	(651)	(392)	(409)	(360)	(1,812)
Hispanic male	(1,025)	(826)	(531)	(497)	(2,879)

White, non-Hispanic female	(2,013)	(1,585)	(1,158)	(2,080)	(6,836)
Black, non-Hispanic female	(695)	(670)	(775)	(687)	(2,827)
Hispanic female	(1,061)	(1,037)	(603)	(679)	(3,380)
A. Used Cocaine in Their Lifetime
White, non-Hispanic male	2.8	14.1	25.1	14.0	14.6
Black, non-Hispanic male	0.3	3.5	12.3	11.4	8.6
Hispanic male	3.6	12.3	14.4	10.8	10.9

White, non-Hispanic female	4.3	7.1	18.7	8.1	9.2
Black, non-Hispanic female	0.5	1.5	8.9	5.2	4.7
Hispanic female	2.5	3.7	5.7	3.2	3.7
B. Used Cocaine in the Past Year
White, non-Hispanic male	2.0	6.5	4.9	1.0	2.4
Black, non-Hispanic male	0.2	1.4	4.0	4.2	3.1
Hispanic male	2.6	6.1	3.3	2.3	3.2

White, non-Hispanic female	3.1	2.5	1.8	0.9	1.4
Black, non-Hispanic female	0.3	0.9	3.9	1.9	1.9
Hispanic female	2.0	1.0	0.9	0.3	0.8
C. Used Cocaine in the Past Month
White, non-Hispanic male	0.9	1.9	0.7	0.4	0.7
Black, non-Hispanic male	*	1.2	2.0	2.2	1.7
Hispanic male	1.1	2.6	1.5	0.9	1.4

White, non-Hispanic female	1.4	0.6	0.7	0.3	0.5
Black, non-Hispanic female	0.2	0.6	1.7	1.2	1.1
Hispanic female	0.9	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.3

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹ The category "other" for race/ethnicity is not included.

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 4.6 Percentage Distribution of Days of Cocaine Use in Their Lifetime for the Total Sample and for Cocaine Users, by Age Group: 1997


Days Used Cocaine in Their Lifetime
	Age Group in Years				Total
	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Total Sample
Did not use	97.0	91.1	81.6	90.1	89.5
1-2 days	1.5	2.9	5.1	2.6	2.9
3-11 days	0.8	2.5	5.0	2.2	2.6
12-100 days	0.4	2.2	4.9	3.0	3.0
$101 days	0.3	1.3	3.3	2.0	1.9
Used in lifetime/ days not reported	*	*	*	*	*
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

B. Used Cocaine at Least Once in Their Lifetime
(Unweighted n)	(269)	(657)	(715)	(620)	(2,261)
1-2 days	49.7	32.3	27.8	26.7	28.3
3-11 days	26.6	28.5	27.3	22.7	24.8
12-100 days	14.6	24.4	26.8	30.7	28.4
$101 days	9.1	14.8	18.1	19.9	18.5
	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0

Note 1: Because of rounding, column percentages for Parts A and B may not total 100.0%. Estimates for persons who used cocaine at least once exclude those who did not report the number of days they used cocaine.
Note 2: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.
*Low precision; no estimate reported.
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 4.7 Percentage Reporting Crack Use in Their Lifetime, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	1.3	2.9	3.6	1.4	1.9

Gender
Male	1.1	3.6	4.5	1.9	2.5
Female	1.5	2.2	2.6	1.0	1.5
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	1.6	3.5	3.4	1.3	1.9
Black, non-Hispanic	0.2	1.1	5.6	3.6	3.1
Hispanic	1.2	1.7	2.9	1.0	1.6
Population Density
Large metro	1.2	2.7	3.2	1.6	2.0
Small metro	1.3	2.8	4.6	1.5	2.1
Nonmetro	1.5	3.3	2.6	1.0	1.5
Region
Northeast	1.2	2.1	2.9	1.4	1.7
North Central	1.4	3.5	3.8	1.4	2.1
South	0.9	2.5	3.6	1.1	1.7
West	2.1	3.5	3.7	2.0	2.5
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	5.7	7.7	1.7	3.1
High school graduate	N/A	2.4	3.2	1.6	2.0
Some college	N/A	1.7	4.2	1.8	2.2
College graduate	N/A	2.6	1.2	0.7	1.0
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	3.0	3.2	2.0	2.4
Part-time	N/A	2.3	3.1	0.9	1.6
Unemployed	N/A	3.6	11.2	3.6	5.3
Other⁴	N/A	2.9	3.0	0.6	1.1

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

N/A: Not applicable.

Table 4.8 Percentage Reporting Crack Use in the Past Year, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: 1997


Demographic Characteristic	Age Group in Years				Total
Demographic Characteristic	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

Total	0.8	1.0	0.9	0.4	0.6

Gender
Male	0.8	1.4	1.1	0.6	0.8
Female	0.9	0.7	0.7	0.3	0.5
Race/Ethnicity¹
White, non-Hispanic	1.0	1.3	0.7	0.3	0.6
Black, non-Hispanic	0.1	0.4	2.3	1.8	1.4
Hispanic	0.9	0.6	0.8	*	0.4
Population Density
Large metro	0.7	1.1	0.7	0.5	0.7
Small metro	1.1	1.1	1.1	0.5	0.7
Nonmetro	0.6	0.9	0.9	0.2	0.4
Region
Northeast	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.4	0.5
North Central	0.8	1.2	0.5	0.8	0.8
South	0.5	0.8	1.0	0.3	0.5
West	1.7	1.4	1.1	0.5	0.8
Adult Education²
Less than high school	N/A	2.4	2.4	0.4	1.0
High school graduate	N/A	0.8	0.8	0.7	0.7
Some college	N/A	0.6	1.0	0.6	0.7
College graduate	N/A	*	0.1	*	0.1
Current Employment³
Full-time	N/A	1.2	0.6	0.5	0.6
Part-time	N/A	0.5	1.1	0.4	0.6
Unemployed	N/A	2.2	3.6	2.4	2.6
Other⁴	N/A	0.7	1.2	0.3	0.4

Note: Due to improved procedures implemented in 1994, these estimates are not comparable with those presented in NHSDA Main Findings prior to 1994.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.
N/A: Not applicable.

Table 4.9 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in Their Lifetime, People Present, and Reasons for Using Cocaine the First Time, by Age Group: 1997


People Present/ Reasons for First Use	Age Group in Years				Total
People Present/ Reasons for First Use	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Used Cocaine in Their Lifetime

(Unweighted n)¹	(247)	(629)	(680)	(596)	(2,152)

B. Other People Present When Used Cocaine the First Time²
I was alone	7.4	3.1	2.3	0.6	1.5
With boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse	*	16.8	23.2	28.6	25.4
With friend(s)	77.2	82.4	82.5	76.9	79.1
With someone I just met	11.5	3.6	6.0	1.5	3.3
With my brother(s) or sister(s)	13.4	3.7	5.5	4.2	4.8
With my father	*	*	*	*	*
With my mother	*	*	0.3	*	0.1
With other relative(s)	5.0	2.6	4.0	2.1	2.8
Some other person/people	2.6	1.4	1.6	0.9	1.2
No information given	1.1	2.1	1.7	2.4	2.1

C. Reasons Why Used Cocaine the First Time³
(Unweighted n)⁴	(240)	(611)	(672)	(592)	(2,115)
I wanted to see what it was like	81.6	94.8	92.6	90.4	91.2
I thought it would make me feel good	41.3	56.6	63.9	64.2	62.6
My friends were using it	37.3	50.4	64.4	63.7	61.7
My boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse wanted me to try it	11.9	14.2	20.6	25.7	22.5
I wanted to get away from my problems or troubles	18.8	15.6	10.2	7.8	9.6
I was bored and wanted to try something new	33.3	31.5	21.6	20.6	22.4
I wanted to disobey the people who told me not to use it	13.9	8.2	4.7	4.9	5.5
Some other reason	12.5	3.9	3.1	3.9	3.9

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹ Unweighted number of respondents in Part A represents those who reported on the "Drug Experiences" answer sheet that they used cocaine in their lifetime.
² The sum of column percentages across different persons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that persons from multiple categories were present.
³ The sum of column percentages across reasons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that multiple reasons applied.
⁴ Unweighted number of respondents in Part C represents those who answered at least one item either as "Yes" or "No."

Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997.

Table 4.10 Percentage Reporting Cocaine Use in the Past Year and Reasons for Using Cocaine in the Past Year, by Age Group: 1997


Reasons for Use in the Past Year	Age Group in Years				Total
Reasons for Use in the Past Year	12-17	18-25	26-34	35+	Total

A. Used Cocaine in the Past Year
(Unweighted n)¹	(158)	(228)	(105)	(66)	(557)

B. Reasons for Using Cocaine in the Past Year²
(Unweighted n)³	(134)	(188)	(79)	(55)	(456)
My friends were using it	*	*	*	*	57.6
My boyfriend/girlfriend/ spouse was using it	*	*	*	*	24.2
I wanted to get away from my problems or troubles	18.2	*	*	*	20.5
I used it to relax	23.9	*	*	*	23.9
A doctor suggested that I use it	*	*	*	*	1.4
A doctor prescribed it for me	*	*	*	*	1.2
I used it for pain relief	5.4	4.6	*	*	9.6
Some other reason	*	*	*	*	27.6

Note: Estimates in this table are generated from data collected in quarters 2-4 on a "non-core" section of the 1997 NHSDA questionnaire.

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

¹ Unweighted number of respondents in Part A represents those who reported on the "Drug Experiences" answer sheet that they used cocaine in the past year.
² The sum of column percentages across reasons may exceed 100% because each respondent could indicate that multiple reasons applied.
³ Unweighted number of respondents in Part B represents respondents who answered at least one item either as "Yes" or "No."
Source: Office of Applied Studies, SAMHSA, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997 (Q2-Q4).

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