Description/Abstract
Adolescents and young adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are more likely than their peers without ADHD to use illicit drugs and misuse prescription drugs. This brief summarizes findings from a study that used data from the National Wellbeing Survey (NWS) to describe differences in lifetime and past-year use of 7 illicit drugs (marijuana, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and hallucinogens) and misuse of 4 categories of prescription medications (opioids, tranquilizers, sedatives, and stimulants) between U.S. adults ages 18-64 with and without self-reported healthcare provider-diagnosed ADHD in 2023. The authors find that adults with ADHD are 1.6 to 3.3 times more likely to report past-year illicit drug use or prescription drug misuse, net of demographic factors.
Document Type
Research Brief
Keywords
ADHD, substance use, drug use disorder, National Wellbeing Survey
Disciplines
Demography, Population, and Ecology | Mental and Social Health | Sociology | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Date
10-14-2025
Language
English
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Alyssa Kirk for copyediting.
Recommended Citation
London, Andrew, Antshel, Kevin, Grove, Joshua, Gutin, Iliya, and Monnat, Shannon. (2025). Past-Year Illicit and Prescription Drug Use is Higher Among U.S. Adults with ADHD. Lerner Center Population Health Research Brief Series. Research Brief #136. Accessed at: https://doi.org/10.14305/rt.lerner.2025.19.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
