There are four lifetime stages of alcohol use (Swendsen et al., 2012). These include use, regular use, abuse without dependence, and abuse with dependence. Similarly, there are four lifetime stages of illicit drug use. These include opportunity to use, first drug use, drug abuse without dependence, and drug abuse with dependence (Swendsen et al., 2012).Data from the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) showed that 59.8% of the sample had alcohol use at some point in their lifetime. The prevalence was 78.2% among adolescents aged 17 to 18 years and 42.5% among those aged 13 to 14 years old (Swendsen et al., 2012).
Data from the 2010 and 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that 28.2% of American adolescents ages 12 through 17 years old used alcohol in the previous year while 19.2% and 8.1% reported using illicit drugs and cigarettes during the same period, respectively. More boys than girls (8.4% versus 7.7%) reported cigarette smoking (Perou et al., 2013).
It was reported that an estimated 4.7% of the American adolescents aged 12 through 17 years had reported having had a disorder related to illicit drug in the previous 12 months. The prevalence did not significantly change along gender lines, but differences between ethnicities were observed. The drugs used most were marijuana, psychotherapeutic drugs for nonmedical use, hallucinogens, cocaine, and inhalants (Perou et al., 2013). In addition to illicit drug disorder, findings show that in the year 2010-2011, 4.2% of the children reported having had abused or dependent on alcohol in the previous six months. The rates were higher among girls (4.7%) compared to boys (3.7%). In the same year, 2.8% of the adolescents reported having had experienced cigarette dependence in the previous month. It was observed that boys were more likely to have had cigarette dependence (3.0%) than girls (2.5%).
