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Home » 2020 Topics & Objectives » Substance Abuse » SA-2.1 Data Details

SA-2.1 Data Details

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SA-2.1 Increase the proportion of at risk adolescents aged 12 to 17 years who, in the past year, refrained from using alcohol for the first time

About the Data: National

Description of the data source, numerator, denominator, survey questions, and other relevant details about the national estimate.

Data Source: 
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Changed Since the Healthy People 2020 Launch: 
Yes
Measure: 
percent
Baseline (Year): 
85.6 (2008)
Target: 
94.2
Target-Setting Method: 
10 percent improvement
Numerator: 

Number of persons aged 12 to 17 years who never used alcohol in their lives prior to the past year and refrained from alcohol use in the past year

Denominator: 

Number of persons aged 12 to 17 years who never used alcohol in their lives prior to the past year

Comparable Healthy People 2010 Objective: 
Adapted from HP2010 objective
Questions Used to Obtain the National Baseline Data: 

    From the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

    [NUMERATOR AND DENOMINATOR:]

    For persons aged 12 to 17 years:

    Have you ever, even once, had a drink of any type of alcoholic beverage? Please do not include times when you only had a sip or two from a drink.

    1. Yes
    2. No

    Think about the first time you had a drink of an alcoholic beverage. How old were you the first time you had a drink of an alcoholic beverage? Please do not include any time when you only had a sip or two from a drink.

    Did you first have a drink of an alcoholic beverage in [CURRENT YEAR - 1] or [CURRENT YEAR]?

    1. CURRENT YEAR - 1
    2. CURRENT YEAR

    In what month in [CURRENT YEAR] did you first have a drink of an alcoholic beverage?

    1. January
    2. February
    3. March
    4. April
    5. May
    6. June
    7. July
    8. August
    9. September
    10. October
    11. November
    12. December
Data Collection Frequency: 
Annual
Methodology Notes: 

    This measure tracks continued abstinence from alcohol among persons aged 12 to 17 who were at risk for initiation of alcohol use. "At risk for initiation' is defined as persons who did not use alcohol in their lifetime or used alcohol for the first time in the past year.

Trend Issues: 
Estimates prior to data year 2015 were removed for country of birth and geographic location due to a questionnaire redesign of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) beginning in data year 2015, which resulted in a break in trend. Estimates were removed for both national level, and state-level data including the category ‘all reporting states’.
Changes Between HP2010 and HP2020: 
This objective differs from Healthy People 2010 objective 26.9a in that the Healthy People 2010 objective tracked the average age person aged 12 to 17 used alcohol for the first time, while this objective tracks continued abstinence from alcohol among persons aged 12 to 17 who were at risk for initiation of alcohol use.

About the Data: State

Description of the data source, numerator, denominator, survey questions, and other relevant details about the state-level data.

Data Source: 
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
Measure: 
percent
Numerator: 

Number of persons aged 12 to 17 years who never used alcohol in their lives prior to the past year and refrained from alcohol use in the past year

Denominator: 

Number of persons aged 12 to 17 years who never used alcohol in their lives prior to the past year

Questions Used to Obtain the State Data: 

      From the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health:

      [NUMERATOR AND DENOMINATOR:]

      For persons aged 12 to 17 years:

      Have you ever, even once, had a drink of any type of alcoholic beverage? Please do not include times when you only had a sip or two from a drink.

      1. Yes
      2. No

      Think about the first time you had a drink of an alcoholic beverage. How old were you the first time you had a drink of an alcoholic beverage? Please do not include any time when you only had a sip or two from a drink.

      Did you first have a drink of an alcoholic beverage in [CURRENT YEAR - 1] or [CURRENT YEAR]?

      1. CURRENT YEAR - 1
      2. CURRENT YEAR

      In what month in [CURRENT YEAR] did you first have a drink of an alcoholic beverage?

      1. January
      2. February
      3. March
      4. April
      5. May
      6. June
      7. July
      8. August
      9. September
      10. October
      11. November
      12. December
Data Collection Frequency: 
Annual
Methodology Notes: 

      This measure tracks continued abstinence from alcohol among persons aged 12 to 17 who were at risk for initiation of alcohol use. "At risk for initiation' is defined as persons who did not use alcohol in their lifetime or used alcohol for the first time in the past year.

Trend Issues: 
Estimates prior to data year 2015 were removed for country of birth and geographic location due to a questionnaire redesign of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) beginning in data year 2015, which resulted in a break in trend. Estimates were removed for both national level, and state-level data including the category ‘all reporting states’.

Revision History

Any change to the objective text, baseline, target, target-setting method or data source since the Healthy People 2020 launch.

Description of Changes Since the Healthy People 2020 Launch: 
During regular data collection and processing checks, errors were identified in the NSDUH data. These errors affected the data for Pennsylvania (2006-2010) and Maryland (2008-2009). These errors had minimal impact on the national estimates and no effect on direct estimates for the other 48 states and the District of Columbia. Comparing estimates for Pennsylvania, Maryland, the mid-Atlantic division, and the Northeast region were of most concern. As a result in 2013, the original baseline was revised from 85.8 to 69.0 percent. The target was adjusted from 94.4 to 75.9 percent to reflect the revised baseline using the original target-setting method. In 2014, the baseline was revised from 69.0 to 85.6 percent due to a programming error for the original estimate. The target was adjusted from 75.9 to 94.2 percent to reflect the revised baseline using the original target-setting method.

References

Additional resources about the objective

  1. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Results from the 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Office of Applied Studies, NSDUH Series H-36, HHS Publication No. SMA 09-4434. Rockville, MD. 2009.
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