2021‑2023
National Surveys on Drug Use and
Health: Substate Region Shapefile Description and Downloading Instructions

Shapefile Components

The shapefile includes the following components:

• “SubstateRegionData212223.prj” contains projection information for the shapefile.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.sbn” contains Part 1 of 2 of the spatial index of features.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.sbx” contains Part 2 of 2 of the spatial index of features.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.shp” contains the feature geometry.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.shx” contains the shape index.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.dbf” contains the attribute table for the shapefile.
• “SubstateRegionData212223.shp.xml” contains geospatial metadata in xml format.

To access these shapefile components, click the archived file to download them.

Description of Shapefile Fields

The fields in the shapefile are as follows:

• “FID” is the file’s internal unique identifier.
• “Shape” is the file’s internal description field.
• “ST_FIPS” is the state federal information processing standards (FIPS) code.
• “ST_NAME” is the State name.
• “SR_NAME” is the substate region’s name based on the 2021‑2023 substate region definitions. For substate region definitions, see 2021‑2023 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health: Substate Region Definitions at https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data‐we‐collect/nsduh‐national‐survey‐drug‐use‐and‐health/substate‐releases/2021‑2023.
• “Reg_FIP” is the substate region’s name with the state’s FIPS code (i.e., the region’s unique identifier).
• ST is the state Abbreviation.

For each outcome, there are four variables on the file:

1. The 2021‑2023 small area estimate value is noted by the outcome name (listed below).
2. The map group for each outcome variable is shown with the outcome name followed by “_GP.” Its values are 1,…,7, where 1 represents low prevalence and 7 represents high prevalence, except for the six perception of great risk variables, where 1 represents high prevalence and 7 represents low prevalence.
3. The lower bound of the map group is shown with the outcome name followed by “_LO.” If a substate region is in map group 3 for a particular outcome, the lower bound shown would be the lower bound given in the map legend for group 3.
4. The upper bound of the map group is shown with the outcome name followed by “_UP.” If a substate region is in map group 3, the upper bound shown would be the upper bound given in the map legend for group 3.

The 39 outcome variables, shown as “outcome name: outcome description (age group),” are as follows:

• alcmon: alcohol use in the past month (12 or older),
• amipy: any mental illness in the past year (18 or older),
• amisud: co‑occurring substance use disorder and any mental illness in the past year (18 or older),
• bngdrk: binge alcohol use in the past month (12 or older),
• cigmon: cigarette use in the past month (12 or older),
• cocyr: cocaine use in the past year (12 or older),
• grskbng: perceptions of great risk from having five or more drinks of an alcoholic beverage once or twice a week (12 or older),
• grskcig: perceptions of great risk from smoking one or more packs of cigarettes per day (12 or older),
• grskcoc: perceptions of great risk from using cocaine once a month (12 or older),
• grskher: perceptions of great risk from trying heroin once or twice (12 or older),
• grskmrj: perceptions of great risk from smoking marijuana once a month (12 or older),
• halluyr: hallucinogen use in the past year (12 or older),
• heryr: heroin use in the past year (18 or older),
• iemmon: illicit drug use other than marijuana in the past month (12 or older),
• illmon: illicit drug use in the past month (12 or older),
• inciden: first use of marijuana (marijuana initiation) (12 or older),
• mdeyr: major depressive episode in the past year (18 or older),
• metamyr: methamphetamine use in the past year (12 or older),
• mrjmon: marijuana use in the past month (12 or older),
• mrjyr: marijuana use in the past year (12 or older),
• opinmyr: opioid misuse in the past year (12 or older),
• pnrnmyr: prescription pain reliever misuse in the past year (12 or older),
• smipy: serious mental illness in the past year (18 or older),
• smisud: co‑occurring substance use disorder and serious mental illness in the past year (18 or older),
• suithky: had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year (18 or older),
• suiplny: made any suicide plans in the past year (18 or older),
• suitryy: attempted suicide in the past year (18 or older,
• tobmon: tobacco product use in the past month (12 or older),
• ud5iaan: substance use disorder in the past year (12 or older),
• ud5ilan: drug use disorder in the past year (12 or older),
• ud5opan: opioid use disorder in the past year (12 or older),
• ud5pran: pain reliever use disorder in the past year (12 or older),
• udyr5al: alcohol use disorder in the past year (12 or older),
• ualcmon: underage alcohol use in the past month (12 to 20),
• ubngdrk: underage binge alcohol use in the past month (12 to 20),
• ucigmon: underage cigarette use in the past month (12 to 20),
• ugrkbng: underage perceptions of great risk from having five or more drinks of an alcoholic beverage once or twice a week (12 to 20),
• utobmon: underage tobacco product use in the past month (12 to 20), and
• uudyalc: underage alcohol use disorder in the past year (12 to 20).

Shapefile Values for a Substate Region: An Example

As an example of an observation in the shapefile, Region 1 in Alabama would have the following values:

ST_FIPS=01, ST_NAME=Alabama, SR_NAME=Region 1, REG_FIP=Region 1_01, ST=AL, ALCMON=39.56, ALCMON_GP=2, ALCMON_LO=34.80, ALCMON_UP=39.56, …, UUDYALC=6.39, UUDYALC_GP=4, UUDYALC_LO=5.37, UUDYALC_UP=6.42