Impact of September 11, 2001 Events on Substance Abuse and Mental Health in the New York Area

Highlights

Most studies dealing with the impact of September 11, 2001 events are limited by reliance on recall of individuals about their behaviors before and after the events. To understand the consequences of significant, unexpected events, it is useful to have baseline information for the purpose of comparison. Fortunately, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) can provide this kind of information on substance use and mental health problems for New York City and areas nearby.

This report examines the potential effects of the September 11 events on substance use and substance abuse treatment, mental health problems and treatment, and religiosity in the New York area using data from the 2000 and 2001 NHSDAs. The primary focus is on two specific areas: New York City (NYC) and the New York Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (NY CMSA). For comparison purposes, the report also looks at trends in a composite of several other Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (C-CMSA) consisting of the cities and surrounding areas of Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit. Of interest is whether the events of September 11 were associated with changes in the prevalence of substance use or mental health problems in these areas. Because the terrorist acts occurred just prior to the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2001, data collected in the first three quarters of 2001 can be combined and compared with data collected in the fourth quarter. To account for any seasonal effects on these within-year comparisons, the 2000 NHSDA is also used for comparison since the survey in 2000 was almost identical to the one fielded in 2001. Analyses were done by age and gender.

In general, relatively few significant changes were observed in problematic behavior following September 11. It is important to note, however, that the post-September 11 data were collected from October through December 2001. It is possible that there may be a lag effect in which behavioral influences are not apparent until a greater amount of time has passed. Highlights of findings are reported below.

Illicit Drug, Alcohol, and Cigarette Use

• Among youths aged 12 to 17 in NYC, an increase was noted in the rate of past month nonmedical psychotherapeutic use between quarters 1 through 3 and quarter 4 in 2001, based on the comparison of this trend in 2001 with the observed trend during 2000.
• In the NY CMSA, the rate of past month use of marijuana by males aged 12 or older almost doubled between the first three quarters of 2001 and the fourth quarter.
• The overall prevalence of past month alcohol use and the quantity of alcohol consumed did not change following September 11 in NYC.
• A decrease following September 11 was observed in NYC in the number of days youths aged 12 to 17 consumed five or more drinks.
• An increase was observed in the NY CMSA in the prevalence rate for alcohol use among persons aged 18 or older during the fourth quarter of 2001 compared with the first three quarters.
• In the C-CMSA, the prevalence of alcohol use decreased from the first three quarters of 2001 to the fourth quarter among youths.
• Cigarette use among all persons aged 12 or older living in NYC and the NY CMSA did not change following September 11.
• Among youths aged 12 to 17 in the C-CMSA, the prevalence of past month cigarette use was significantly lower during the fourth quarter of 2001 compared with the first three quarters.
• The mean number of days female smokers used cigarettes increased after September 11 in the C-CMSA.

Substance Abuse Treatment Utilization

• In NYC and the NY CMSA, there were no changes in reporting of past month, past year, or current substance abuse treatment utilization among persons aged 12 or older following September 11, 2001.
• For youths aged 12 to 17 from the C-CMSA, past year substance abuse treatment was lower in the fourth quarter than in the first three quarters of 2001.
• Compared with the pattern observed during 2000 (an increase from the first three quarters to the fourth quarter), youths in the C-CMSA showed significant decreases in current, past month, and past year substance abuse treatment from the first three quarters to the fourth quarter of 2001.

Mental Health Problems and Treatment Utilization

• In NYC, the NY CMSA, and the C-CMSA there were no statistically significant increases or decreases following September 11 in the proportion of adults classified with distress or a disorder.
• For adults aged 18 or older in NYC, the mean number of disorder symptoms among persons with disorders was lower in the fourth quarter of 2001 compared with the first three quarters of the same year. No differences between the first three quarters and the fourth quarter were found in reporting of number of symptoms associated with mental disorders or distress for adults from the NY CMSA or the C-CMSA.
• For ages 12 and older in NYC, the NY CMSA, and the C-CMSA there were no changes in the reported use of mental health treatment when the period before October 1 was compared with the period after October 1 in 2001.
• Among youths in NYC and the NY CMSA, the proportion reporting past year treatment was slightly higher in the fourth quarter of 2001 than in the first three quarters of 2001. While this was not a statistically significant shift, it was a significantly different pattern than was observed in 2000, when the rate was higher in the first three quarters than in the fourth quarter.

Religiosity

• The percentage of the population aged 12 or older living in NYC, the NY CMSA, or the C-CMSA reporting that religion is "very important" in their lives did not differ between the first three quarters of 2001 and the fourth quarter of 2001.

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.