Drug and alcohol use reported by youth in juvenile facilities, 2008–2018

“This report describes patterns of drug and alcohol use among youth in juvenile facilities before they entered custody, including drugs or alcohol ever used and types of drugs used. It also provides findings on substance use disorder and alcohol use disorder among youth by their demographic and offense characteristics.

An estimated 84% of youth in juvenile facilities reported ever using drugs and 76% reported ever using alcohol, according to data collected in 2008-09, 2012, and 2018. More than half (60%) of youth in juvenile facilities met the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria for substance use disorder and more than a third (36%) met the criteria for alcohol use disorder in the 12 months before entering custody.

Findings are from an alternative questionnaire given to 10% of youth in the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ (BJS) National Survey of Youth in Custody (NSYC): 1,027 youth from the NSYC-1 in 2008–09, 937 youth from the NSYC-2 in 2012, and 652 youth from the NSYC-3 in 2018. Analyses in the report are generally based on data aggregated across the three surveys.”
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