Asian Americans and Substance Abuse
There are 13 million individuals in the United States that identify themselves as Asian. Asian Americans are part of a growing minority population that is expected to expand significantly over the next few decades.
As the diversity of the American population expands, it is important for policy-makers to understand the health needs of different groups of people, including assessing adequate availability of substance abuse treatment. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) compiles data that details the substance abuse treatment needs of the population, and the information presented in this article was gathered during the period between 2004 and 2008.
The data from 2004 to 2008 indicates that there is wide diversity even among Asian Americans. 24 percent of Asians identify themselves as Indian, 23.1 percent as Chinese, 21.1 percent as Filipino, 8.9 percent as Japanese, 7.7 percent as Vietnamese and 7.6 percent as Korean.
The report from the NSDUH showed that 39.8 percent of Asian Americans had used alcohol, with 13.2 percent participating in binge drinking during the last month. 3.4 percent of Asian Americans had used an illicit drug in the past month. These numbers are below the national average for American adults.
Substance abuse varies between the different Asian subgroups. Koreans showed the highest use of alcohol in the last month, at 51.9 percent. Indians showed the lowest rate of alcohol consumption, with only 32.1 percent of Indians having used alcohol in the past month. Japanese represented the highest illicit drug use at 6.2 percent having used drugs in the last month, while only 2.1 percent of Chinese and Indian adults had used an illicit drug.
Asian Americans who were born in the United States reported a higher rate of past month alcohol use, binge drinking and drug use than those born outside the United States. However, rates of use of alcohol and illicit drugs were significantly lower for Asian young adults than the national average.
The data published by the NSDUH indicates that approximately 451,000 Asian adults were in need of substance abuse treatment during the last year. This number represent 4.8 percent of Asians, compared to a national average of 9.6 percent for adults. 1 in 16 Asians in need of substance abuse treatment received it at a specialty facility.
Across all adult age groups, Asian Americans have a lower substance abuse rate than the national average. The NSDUH data is helpful for identifying the subgroups that may need more treatment availability than others, and the information presented by the survey is important for planning healthcare facilities that adequately serve the population.
