From NIDA
High School and Youth Drug Abuse Trends
Monitoring the Future Study (MTF)*
Since 1975, the MTF has annually measured the extent of drug abuse among high school seniors. The survey was expanded in 1991 to include 8th- and 10th-grade students. It is funded by NIDA and is conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
- Among the graduating class of 1997, 54.3 percent of students had used an illicit drug by the time they reached their senior year of high school, continuing an upward trend from 40.7 in 1992 but still far below the peak of 65.6 percent in 1981.
- After increasing significantly between 1992 and 1996, the use of illegal drugs by adolescents leveled off for most drugs in 1997. Illicit drug use among 8th graders remained stable or decreased for some substances in 1997. Use among 10th- and 12th-graders remained stable, however, lifetime use of some substances increased.
- Use of any illicit drug in the past year (annual use) by seniors increased from 27.1 percent in 1992 to 42.4 percent in 1997 after steadily declining from a peak of 54.2 percent in 1979. The percentage of seniors who had used an illicit drug within the past month (current use) increased from 14.4 percent in 1992 to 26.2 percent in 1997.
Lifetime Prevalence of Drug Abuse, 1997:
Monitoring the Future Study
| 8th-Graders | 10th-Graders | 12th-Graders | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marijuana | 22.6% | 42.3% | 49.6% |
| Cocaine | 4.4 | 7.1 | 8.7 |
| Inhalants | 21 | 18.3 | 16.1 |
| LSD | 4.7 | 9.5 | 13.6 |
| Heroin | 2.1 | 2.1 | 2.1 |
| Stimulants | 12.3 | 17 | 16.5 |
| Alcohol | 53.8 | 72 | 81.7 |
| Cigarettes | 47.3 | 60.2 | 65.4 |
Marijuana
- The lifetime use of marijuana increased among 10th- and 12th-graders in 1997. Rates for 12th-graders (the only class for which long-term trends are observable) are still below the high levels of the peak years of 1979 and 1980.
- Among 8th-graders, increases in lifetime and annual use of marijuana reported from 1992 through 1996 leveled off in 1997. Between 1992 and 1997, however, lifetime use increased from 11.2 percent to 22.6 percent; annual use increased from 7.2 percent to 17.7 percent; and current use increased from 3.7 percent to 10.2 percent.
- Among 10th-graders, lifetime use of marijuana increased from 21.4 percent in 1992 to 42.3 percent in 1997. Annual use increased from 15.2 percent in 1992 to 34.8 percent in 1997, and current use increased from 8.1 percent in 1992 to 20.5 percent in 1997.
- In 1997, 49.6 percent of seniors had used marijuana at least once (lifetime use), up from 32.6 percent in 1992. Annual use of marijuana among seniors peaked at 50.8 percent in 1979, decreased steadily to 21.9 percent in 1992, and increased to 38.5 in 1997. Current use increased from 11.9 percent in 1992 to 23.7 percent in 1997.
Cocaine
- Rates of cocaine use remained level for 8th- and 10th-graders between 1996 and 1997. Lifetime use of cocaine among 12th-graders, however, increased from 7.1 percent in 1996 to 8.7 percent in 1997, the highest rate reported since 1990.
- Lifetime use of crack cocaine among 12th-graders increased from 3.3 percent in 1996 to 3.9 percent in 1997. Crack cocaine use among 8th- and 10th graders remained level between 1996 and 1997. Survey results showed that 2.7 percent of 8th-graders and 3.6 percent of 10th-graders, had used crack at least once; 1.7 percent of 8th graders and 2.2 percent of 10th-graders, used crack within the preceding year; and 0.7 percent of 8th-graders and 0.9 percent of 10th-graders, had used crack within the preceding month.
LSD
- Lifetime use of LSD among seniors was 13.6 percent in 1997, and their annual use of LSD was 8.4 percent in 1997, surpassing these levels of use during the peak years of the mid-1970s.
- Annual use of LSD by 8th-graders was 3.2 percent in 1997 (up from 2.4 percent in 1994). Annual use for 10th-graders increased from 5.2 percent in 1994 to 6.7 percent in 1997.
Inhalants
- Inhalants are the most widely abused substances after alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana among 8th-graders. Rates of use among 8th-graders are higher than rates of use for 10th- and 12th-graders.
- In 1997, more than one in five 8th-graders (21.0 percent) had used inhalants, which include glues, aerosols, and solvents, at least once in their lives and 11.8 percent used inhalants within the preceding year.
Alcohol
- Daily use of alcohol by high school seniors in 1997 was 3.9 percent. Among 10th-graders, daily use of alcohol was 1.7 percent in 1997, and daily use of alcohol among 8th-graders was 0.8 percent.
- Binge drinking (having five or more drinks in a row) was reported by 31.3 percent of high school seniors, and the rate of binge drinking among 10th graders was 25.1 percent in 1997. Among 8th-graders, the rate of binge drinking in 1997 was 14.5 percent.
- The percentage of 8th-graders reporting having been drunk in the past 30 days decreased from 9.6 percent in 1996 to 8.2 percent in 1997. However, the percentage of 10th-graders reporting having been drunk daily increased from 0.4 percent in 1996 to 0.6 percent in 1997. Among 12th-graders, past year use of alcohol increased from 72.5 percent in 1996 to 74.8 percent in 1997. Lifetime use also increased among seniors.
Cigarettes
- The percentage of 8th-graders reporting heavy cigarette smoking decreased between 1996 and 1997. Daily smoking in the past 30 days decreased from 10.4 to 9.0 percent and 8th-graders smoking a half-pack or more cigarettes per day decreased from 4.3 percent to 3.5 percent.
- In 1997, 9.0 percent of 8th graders, 18.0 percent of 10th-graders, and 24.6 percent 12th-grades report daily smoking.
Students' Attitudes and Perceptions
- Adolescents perception of the harmfulness of drugs is a key predictor of increases and decreases in their subsequent use of drugs. For most drugs, perceived risk of harm remained stable between 1996 and 1997.
- In 1997, 43.1 percent of 8th-graders, 31.9 percent 10th-graders, and 24.7 percent of 12th-graders believed that people are at great risk of harming themselves by smoking marijuana occasionally.
- In 1997, 54.2 percent of 8th-graders, 80.5 percent of 10th-graders, and 89.6 percent of seniors said it would be "very easy" or "fairly easy" for them to get marijuana.
- There was an increase in the percentage of 8th-graders saying there is great risk in having five or more drinks once or twice each weekend (heavy drinking), increasing from 51.8 percent in 1996 to 55.6 percent in 1997.
- Moving in the wrong direction, however, are attitudes about drinking among 12th graders, specifically a decrease in the percentage of seniors saying there is great risk in heavy drinking (49.5 percent in 1996 to 43.0 percent in 1997).
Monitoring the Future Study: Trends in Prevalence of Various Drugs for 8th-Graders, 10th-Graders, and High School Seniors***
| 8th-Graders | 10th-Graders | 12th-Graders | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | |
| Marijuana /Hashish | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
lifetime annual 30-day daily |
10.2 6.2 3.2 0.2 |
11.2 7.2 3.7 0.2 |
12.6 9.2 5.1 0.4 |
16.7 13.0 7.8 0.7 |
19.9 15.8 9.1 0.8 |
23.1 18.3 11.3 1.5 |
22.6 17.7 10.2 1.1 |
23.4 16.5 8.7 0.8 |
21.4 15.2 8.1 0.8 |
24.4 19.2 10.9 1.0 |
30.4 25.2 15.8 2.2 |
34.1 28.7 17.2 2.8 |
39.8 33.6 20.4 3.5 |
42.3 34.8 20.5 3.7 |
36.7 23.9 13.8 2.0 |
32.6 21.9 11.9 1.9 |
35.3 26.0 15.5 2.4 |
38.2 30.7 19.0 3.6 |
41.7 34.7 21.2 4.6 |
44.9 35.8 21.9 4.9 |
49.6 38.5 23.7 5.8 |
| Inhalants | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
17.6 9.0 4.4 0.2 |
17.4 9.5 4.7 0.3 |
19.4 11.0 5.4 0.3 |
19.9 11.7 5.6 0.2 |
21.6 12.8 6.1 0.2 |
21.2 12.2 5.8 0.2 |
21.0 11.8 5.6 |
15.7 7.1 2.7 0.1 |
16.6 7.5 2.7 0.1 |
17.5 8.4 3.3 0.2 |
18.0 9.1 3.6 0.1 |
19.0 9.6 3.5 0.1 |
19.3 9.5 3.3 0.1 |
18.3 8.7 3.0 |
17.6 6.6 2.4 0.2 |
16.6 6.2 2.3 0.1 |
17.4 7.0 2.5 0.1 |
17.7 7.7 2.7 0.1 |
17.4 8.0 3.2 0.1 |
16.6 7.6 2.5 0.2 |
16.1 6.7 2.5 |
| Hallucinogens | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
3.2 1.9 0.8 0.1 |
3.8 2.5 1.1 0.1 |
3.9 2.6 1.2 0.1 |
4.3 2.7 1.3 0.1 |
5.2 3.6 1.7 0.1 |
5.9 4.1 1.9 0.1 |
5.4 3.7 1.8 |
6.1 4.0 1.6 * |
6.4 4.3 1.8 0.1 |
6.8 4.7 1.9 0.1 |
8.1 5.8 2.4 0.1 |
9.3 7.2 3.3 * |
10.5 7.8 2.8 * |
10.5 7.6 3.3 |
9.6 5.8 2.2 * |
9.2 5.9 2.1 0.1 |
10.9 7.4 2.7 0.1 |
11.4 7.6 3.1 0.1 |
12.7 9.3 4.4 0.1 |
14.0 10.1 3.5 0.1 |
15.1 9.8 3.9 |
| LSD | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
2.7 1.7 0.6 * |
3.2 2.1 0.9 * |
3.5 2.3 1.0 * |
3.7 2.4 1.1 * |
4.4 3.2 1.4 0.1 |
5.1 3.5 1.5 * |
4.7 3.2 1.5 |
5.6 3.7 1.5 * |
5.8 4.0 1.6 0.1 |
6.2 4.2 1.6 * |
7.2 5.2 2.0 * |
8.4 6.5 3.0 * |
9.4 6.9 2.4 * |
9.5 6.7 2.8 |
8.8 5.2 1.9 0.1 |
8.6 5.6 2.0 0.1 |
10.3 6.8 2.4 0.1 |
10.5 6.9 2.6 0.1 |
11.7 8.4 4.0 0.1 |
12.6 8.8 2.5 * |
13.6 8.4 3.1 |
| Cocaine | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
2.3 1.1 0.5 0.1 |
2.9 1.5 0.7 * |
2.9 1.7 0.7 0.1 |
3.6 2.1 1.0 0.1 |
4.2 2.6 1.2 0.1 |
4.5 3.0 1.3 0.1 |
4.4 2.8 1.1 |
4.1 2.2 0.7 0.1 |
3.3 1.9 0.7 * |
3.6 2.1 0.9 0.1 |
4.3 2.8 1.2 0.1 |
5.0 3.5 1.7 0.1 |
6.5 4.2 1.7 0.1 |
7.1 4.7 2.0 |
7.8 3.5 1.4 0.1 |
6.1 3.1 1.3 0.1 |
6.1 3.3 1.3 0.1 |
5.9 3.6 1.5 0.1 |
6.0 4.0 1.8 0.2 |
7.1 4.9 2.0 0.2 |
8.7 5.5 2.3 |
| Crack Cocaine | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
1.3 0.7 0.3 * |
1.6 0.9 0.5 * |
1.7 1.0 0.4 0.1 |
2.4 1.3 0.7 * |
2.7 1.6 0.7 * |
2.9 1.8 0.8 * |
2.7 1.7 0.7 |
1.7 0.9 0.3 * |
1.5 0.9 0.4 * |
1.8 1.1 0.5 * |
2.1 1.4 0.6 * |
2.8 1.8 0.9 * |
3.3 2.1 0.8 * |
3.6 2.2 0.9 |
3.1 1.5 0.7 0.1 |
2.6 1.5 0.6 0.1 |
2.6 1.5 0.7 0.1 |
3.0 1.9 0.8 0.1 |
3.0 2.1 1.0 0.1 |
3.3 2.1 1.0 0.2 |
3.9 2.4 0.9 |
| Heroin | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
1.2 0.7 0.3 * |
1.4 0.7 0.4 * |
1.4 0.7 0.4 * |
2.0 1.2 0.6 0.1 |
2.3 1.4 0.6 * |
2.4 1.6 0.7 * |
2.1 1.3 0.6 |
1.2 0.5 0.2 * |
1.2 0.6 0.2 * |
1.3 0.7 0.3 * |
1.5 0.9 0.4 * |
1.7 1.1 0.6 * |
2.1 1.2 0.5 * |
2.1 1.4 0.6 |
0.9 0.4 0.2 * |
1.2 0.6 0.3 * |
1.1 0.5 0.2 * |
1.2 0.6 0.3 * |
1.6 1.1 0.6 0.1 |
1.8 1.0 0.5 0.1 |
2.1 1.2 0.5 |
| Stimulants | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
10.5 6.2 2.6 0.1 |
10.8 6.5 3.3 0.1 |
11.8 7.2 3.6 0.1 |
12.3 7.9 3.6 0.1 |
13.1 8.7 4.2 0.2 |
13.5 9.1 4.6 0.1 |
12.3 8.1 3.8 |
13.2 8.2 3.3 0.1 |
13.1 8.2 3.6 0.1 |
14.9 9.6 4.3 0.3 |
15.1 10.2 4.5 0.1 |
17.4 11.9 5.3 0.2 |
17.7 12.4 5.5 0.1 |
17.0 12.1 5.1 |
15.4 8.2 3.2 0.2 |
13.9 7.1 2.8 0.2 |
15.1 8.4 3.7 0.2 |
15.7 9.4 4.0 0.2 |
15.3 9.3 4.0 0.3 |
15.3 9.5 4.1 0.3 |
16.5 10.2 4.8 |
| Tranquilizers | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
3.8 1.8 0.8 * |
4.1 2.0 0.8 * |
4.4 2.1 0.9 0.1 |
4.6 2.4 1.1 0.1 |
4.5 2.7 1.2 * |
5.3 3.3 1.5 * |
2.9 1.2 |
5.8 3.2 1.2 * |
5.9 3.5 1.5 * |
5.7 3.3 1.1 * |
5.4 3.3 1.5 * |
6.0 4.0 1.7 0.1 |
7.1 4.6 1.7 * |
4.9 2.2 1.7 |
7.2 3.6 1.4 0.1 |
6.0 2.8 1.0 * |
6.4 3.5 1.2 * |
6.6 3.7 1.4 0.1 |
7.1 4.4 1.8 * |
7.2 4.6 2.0 0.2 |
4.7 1.8 |
| Alcohol** | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
70.1 54.0 25.1 0.5 |
69.3 53.7 26.1 0.6 |
67.1 55.7 51.6 45.4 26.2 24.3 0.8 1.0 |
NA 55.8 NA 46.8 NA 25.5 NA 1.0 |
54.5 45.3 24.6 0.7 |
55.3 46.5 26.2 1.0 |
53.8 45.5 24.5 0.8 |
83.8 72.3 42.8 1.3 |
82.3 70.2 39.9 1.2 |
80.8 71.6 69.3 63.4 41.5 38.2 1.6 1.8 |
NA 71.1 NA 63.9 NA 39.2 NA 1.7 |
70.5 63.5 38.8 1.7 |
71.8 65.0 40.4 1.6 |
72.0 65.2 40.1 1.7 |
88.0 77.7 54.0 3.6 |
87.5 76.8 51.3 3.4 |
87.0 80.0 76.0 72.7 51.0 48.6 2.5 |
NA 80.4 NA 73.0 NA 50.1 NA 2.9 |
80.7 73.7 51.3 3.5 |
79.2 72.5 50.8 3.7 |
81.7 74.8 52.7 3.9 |
| Cigarettes (any use) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day 1/2 pack+/day |
44.0 NA 14.3 3.1 |
45.2 NA 15.5 2.9 |
45.3 NA 16.7 3.5 |
46.1 NA 18.6 3.6 |
46.4 NA 19.1 3.4 |
49.2 NA 21.0 4.3 |
47.3 NA 19.4 3.5 |
55.1 NA 20.8 6.5 |
53.5 NA 21.5 6.0 |
56.3 NA 24.7 7.0 |
56.9 NA 25.4 7.6 |
57.6 NA 27.9 8.3 |
61.2 NA 30.4 9.4 |
60.2 NA 29.8 8.6 |
63.1 NA 28.3 10.7 |
61.8 NA 27.8 10.0 |
61.9 NA 29.9 10.9 |
62.0 NA 31.2 11.2 |
64.2 NA 33.5 12.4 |
63.5 NA 34.0 13.0 |
65.4 NA 36.5 14.3 |
| Smokeless Tobacco | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
22.2 NA 6.9 1.6 |
20.7 NA 7.0 1.8 |
18.7 NA 6.6 1.5 |
19.9 NA 7.7 1.9 |
20.0 NA 7.1 1.2 |
20.4 NA 7.1 1.5 |
16.8 NA 5.5 1.0 |
28.2 NA 10.0 3.3 |
26.6 NA 9.6 3.0 |
28.1 NA 10.4 3.3 |
29.2 NA 10.5 3.0 |
27.6 NA 9.7 2.7 |
27.4 NA 8.6 2.2 |
26.3 NA 8.9 2.2 |
NA NA NA NA |
32.4 NA 11.4 4.3 |
31.0 NA 10.7 3.3 |
30.7 NA 11.1 3.9 |
30.9 NA 12.2 3.6 |
29.8 NA 9.8 3.3 |
25.3 NA 9.7 4.4 |
| Steroids | |||||||||||||||||||||
| lifetime annual 30-day daily |
1.9 1.0 0.4 * |
1.7 1.1 0.5 * |
1.6 0.9 0.5 0.1 |
2.0 1.2 0.5 * |
2.0 1.0 0.6 * |
1.8 0.9 0.4 * |
1.8 1.0 0.5 |
1.8 1.1 0.6 0.1 |
1.7 1.1 0.6 0.1 |
1.7 1.0 0.5 * |
1.8 1.1 0.6 0.1 |
2.0 1.2 0.7 |
2.0 1.2 0.6 0.1 |
1.8 1.2 0.5 * |
2.1 1.4 0.8 0.1 |
2.1 1.1 0.6 * |
2.0 1.2 0.7 0.1 |
2.4 1.3 0.9 0.4 |
2.3 1.5 0.7 0.2 |
1.9 1.4 0.7 0.3 |
2.4 1.4 1.0 |
* Less than 0.05 percent.
** The wording of the questionnaire was changed in 1993; the new questionnaire requires heavier use to elicit a positive response.
*** Numbers denote percentages
Source: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Monitoring the Future Study, 1997.
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