12th grade dropouts have higher rates of cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use, U.S. study finds

Dropping out and drugging up go together

American teenagers who drop out of high school are dramatically more likely to smoke, drink, and use drugs than classmates who stay in school. That's the finding of The NSDUH Report: Substance Use among 12th Grade Aged Youths by Dropout Status, published by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in February 2013, based on annual averages from the 2002–2010 National Surveys on Drug Use and Health.

The numbers are stark. Among 16-to-18-year-olds, dropouts were more than twice as likely to be current cigarette smokers as students: 56.8 percent versus 22.4 percent. For illicit drugs overall, the gap was 31.4 percent versus 18.2 percent — including marijuana (27.3 vs. 15.3 percent) and nonmedical use of prescription-type drugs (9.5 vs. 5.1 percent). Alcohol use ran 41.6 percent versus 35.3 percent, with binge drinking — five or more drinks on one occasion in the past month — at 32.3 percent versus 23.8 percent.

"Enormous public health implications"

"The fact that nearly 1 in 7 students drops out of high school has enormous public health implications for our nation," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde at the report's release. "Dropouts are at increased risk of substance abuse, which is particularly troubling given that they are also at greater risk of poverty, not having health insurance, and other health problems."

The report found that 13.2 percent of 12th-grade-aged youths had dropped out, with boys more likely than girls (14.7 vs. 11.6 percent) and the highest rates among Hispanic (23.0 percent) and American Indian or Alaska Native (25.5 percent) youths.

Correlation, not verdict

The report doesn't prove that dropping out causes substance use — the two likely feed each other in a cycle of disadvantage. But Hyde's point stands: keeping kids in school is one of the most powerful drug-prevention tools a country has.

Archive summary, February 2013, of the SAMHSA NSDUH report. The agency's original report URL has since been restructured; the report remains searchable by its title.