Illicit Drug Use from Adolescence to Young Adulthood among Child Welfare-Involved Youth

This study examined illicit substance use among 1,004 adolescents age 11-15, involved with the Child Welfare System (CWS) and followed from 1999 to 2007 as part of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). NSCAW is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of the well-being of children aged 15 or younger who have had contact with the CWS. Time points were baseline/investigation, 12 months, 18 months, 3 years, and 5-7 years. In addition to cross-sectional exploration of rates of illicit substance use across adolescence, trajectories of substance use and predictors of these trajectories were examined using longitudinal growth models (LGM). Rates of 30-day illicit drug use were 13.1% at baseline, 18.1% at 18 months, and 20.6% at 36 months. Older adolescents at each wave were more likely to use illicit drugs than younger adolescents. At Wave 5, more than a quarter of young adults (26.3%) had used marijuana, 25.4% used hard drugs (cocaine, LSD, heroin, club drugs), and 12.8% used a prescription medication for recreational purposes. Overall, by wave 5, 62.5% of youth had used an illicit drug. Five trajectory groups were observed: Experimental users (31.1%); Regular users (15.3%); New users (10.9%); and Substance Dependent (5.3%). Predictors of regular use during adolescence were: having a prior CWS report, externalizing behavior problems, delinquency, and any sexual experience. Exposure to physical abuse was predictive of escalating substance use trajectories. Protective factors included having a child at any point during the study, parental monitoring, and being placed in kinship care.