Spouses and Children of U.S. Military Personnel: Results from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

This report presents findings from the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) with a focus on comparing estimates related to substance use and mental health for military family members (spouses and children) with general population estimates. The numbers of military family members included in the 2015 NSDUH were relatively small. As a consequence, the report focuses on wives aged 18 to 49 and children aged 12 to 17. In the general area of substance use, the report includes estimates for past year use of any illicit substances (marijuana, cocaine in any form including crack, heroin, hallucinogens, inhalants, and methamphetamine and misuse of four categories of prescription drugs -- pain relievers, tranquilizers, stimulants and sedatives), past year cigarette use, past year alcohol use (both any use and binge use), and past year treatment for substance use, including alcohol use. In the general area of mental health, the report includes estimates for any mental illness (AMI) in the past year for wives. For both wives and children, the report includes estimates for past year major depressive episode (MDE) and mental health service use. For children, estimates of mental health service are reported by general treatment setting (e.g., mental health, educational, medical). As additional years of data become available, it will be possible in future reports to include both male and female spouses and to make more detailed comparisons -- for example for more specific types of illicit substances used and for treatment received by setting, by race/ethnicity and for spouses, by employment and educational background.