Challenges of Pregnant Teens in Substance Abuse Treatment

Challenges of Pregnant Teens in Substance Abuse Treatment

Challenges of Pregnant Teens in Substance Abuse Treatment

A new report shows that among the approximately 57,000 teenage (ages 12 to 19) female substance abuse treatment admissions each year, about 2,000 (4 percent) involve pregnant teens. SAMHSA's report finds that these pregnant teen admissions tend to involve greater challenges than other female teen admissions in a number of key areas, such as financial and educational status.

Pregnant teen admissions were three times more likely than other female teen admissions to receive public assistance as a primary source of income (15 percent vs. 5.3 percent, respectively). Similarly in education, while 74 percent of non-pregnant female teen admissions who were not in the workforce were students, only 44.2 percent of pregnant teen admissions not in the workforce were students.

The report, Characteristics of Pregnant Teen Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions, is based on findings from SAMHSA's 2007 to 2010 Treatment Episode Data Set (TEDS). TEDS is a national system of tracking annual admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities throughout the Nation.

View the Report Findings | View Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Publications

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