Monitoring the Future survey of teen substance use

The Monitoring the Future Survey is one of three major surveys that provide information on substance use among youth in the United States. The other two surveys are the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Monitoring the Future is conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research and funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Monitoring the Future has tracked 12th graders' illicit drug use and attitudes toward drugs since 1975. In 1991, 8th and 10th graders were added to the study. The 2003 study surveyed about 48,500 students in 392 schools across the U.S.

Questions in the survey ask about the teen's lifetime use (at least once during life), past year use (at least once in the previous year), past month use (at least once in past month), and daily use of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco. The survey also contains questions about the teen's perception and attitudes toward drug use, such as perception of harm from use, disapproval of others who take drugs, and perceived availability of drugs.

Although there is a broad decline in the use of drugs among teens in recent years, substance abuse still remains a widespread problem for American young people. Today half have tried an illicit drug by the time they finish high school, and nearly a third have tried some illicit drug other than marijuana by the end of 12th grade.

Drinking and illicit drug abuse are leading causes of health and social problems and accidents leading to injury or death among young people. The long-term consequences of smoking and drug and alcohol abuse include long-term health and social problems that begin in the teen years but carry on into adulthood.

This survey reveals general trends in use and attitudes among teens. Some findings from the 2003 survey follow.¹

Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco

In 2003, about 10% of 8th graders, 17% of 10th graders and 24% of 12th graders reported smoking in the last 30 days. Although many adolescents still smoke, the number who do has been decreasing steadily since peak levels in the mid-1990s. (However, this important trend is slowing down in the lower grades.) Teen use of smokeless tobacco also continues to decrease, down by about one-half from the peak levels reached in the mid-1990s.

Alcohol

Alcohol use remains widespread among today's teenagers. Nearly 4 out of every 5 students (77%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school. Nearly half have done so by 8th grade.

In 2003, about 20% of 8th graders, 35% of 10th graders and 48% of 12th graders reported having drunk alcohol in the past 30 days.

Inhalants

Use of inhalants is increasing among 8th graders. After a period of several years of decline for all three grade levels, annual reported inhalant use among 8th graders rose almost 1% in 2003 to nearly 9%. It is possible this may indicate a "generational forgetting" about the dangers of this type of drug.

Illicit drugs

Teen use of illicit drugs depends on several factors, including how widely the effects of the drug's "high" are recognized, how favorable the reports of its supposed benefits are, how risky the use of it is seen to be, how acceptable it is in the peer group, and how accessible it is in the peer group.

Use of illicit drugs has been declining in all three grades since 2001, and current levels of illicit drug use among 12th graders are well below the highest levels of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Despite the decline, illicit drug use continues to be prevalent in all three grades.

• Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit substance. In the last year, 13% of 8th graders, 28% of 10th graders, and 35% of 12th graders reported having used it. Marijuana use has been declining since it reached a peak in all three grades in 1996 and 1997. In 2002 and 2003, the number of students who reported using marijuana decreased significantly.
• The use of ecstasy (MDMA) increased steeply between 1998 and 2001 but has begun to drop sharply in all three grades. From its 2001 peak rates, the number of students who reported using ecstasy in the past year declined a total of 40% among 8th graders, 52% among 10th graders, and 51% among 12th graders. In 2003, about 2% of 8th graders, 3% of 10th graders and 5% of 12th graders reported having used ecstasy in the past year.
• Heroin use had a steep increase in all three grades during the 1990s and, with some fluctuations, has been decreasing since 2001. In 2003, the annual use rate for all three grades was reported at close to 1%.
• In 2003, 2% of 8th graders, 3% of 10th graders and 5% of 12th graders reported using some form of cocaine in the last year. In the mid-1970s until the mid-1980s, cocaine use was at an all-time high with reported annual use at about 12% for 12th graders. Use declined steadily until the early 1990s when annual use rates were below 4% for all grade levels. Use rose until the late 1990s and has been declining since then.
• Use of LSD has been declining steadily since data collection began. In 2003, LSD use was at about 1% for 8th graders and about 2% for both 10th and 12th graders.
• Use of amphetamines is declining, with rates for all three grades between 6% and 10% annual use rates.
• Use of methamphetamines has been declining gradually for several years for all three grades. Use rates for all three grades are around 3%.
• Use of hallucinogens other than LSD (such as mushrooms) has declined slightly since 2001 in all three grades, with annual use rates at about 2% for 8th graders, 4% for 10th graders, and 6% for 12th graders.
• Club drugs such as flunitrazepam (Rohypnol), gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), and ketamine all have relatively low prevalence-of-use rates among secondary students (with annual rates of less than 1% to 2%) and are holding steady.
• Use of anabolic steroids has fluctuated between 1% and about 2% in all three grade levels over the past several years with much higher rates for boys and different use rates in different grades. Overall rates for boys in all three grades are between about 2% and 3%.