1997 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Strengths and Limitations of the Household Survey

The NHSDA is the only survey that regularly produces estimates of drug use among members of the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population aged 12 or older. The survey is an appropriate vehicle for estimating prevalence rates for different drugs because it reports much drug use that does not ordinarily come to the attention of administrative, medical, or correctional authorities. In-person interviews with a large national probability sample seem to be the best way to estimate drug use in virtually the entire population of the United States.

Although the NHSDA is useful for many purposes, it has certain limitations. First, the data are self-reports of drug use, and their value depends on respondents' truthfulness and memory. Several studies have established the validity of self-report data (e.g., Harrison, Haaga, & Richards, 1993; Turner, Lessler, & Gfroerer, 1992). The NHSDA procedures encourage honesty and recall; nevertheless, some under- and overreporting were very likely. Second, the survey is cross-sectional rather than longitudinal; that is, individuals were interviewed only once and were not followed for subsequent interviews. Therefore, the surveys provide an overview of the prevalence of drug use at specific points in time, rather than a view of how the drug use behavior of individuals changes over time. Third, because the survey population is defined as the U.S. civilian, noninstitutionalized population, a small proportion (less than 2%) is excluded: those living in institutional group quarters (e.g., prisons, nursing homes, treatment centers), homeless people who never use shelters, and active military personnel (Bray & Marsden, 1999; Bray, Marsden, & Peterson, 1991; Gerstein & Harwood, 1992; NIDA, 1994). If the drug use of these groups differs from that of the household population, the NHSDA may provide slightly inaccurate estimates of drug use in the total population. This may be particularly true for prevalence estimates of rarely used drugs, such as heroin.

This page was last updated on June 16, 2008.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.