US Youth Exposed to Parental Substance Use Disorder in the Home: A Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 Criteria.

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Bibliographic Details
Title: US Youth Exposed to Parental Substance Use Disorder in the Home: A Comparison of DSM-IV and DSM-5 Criteria.
Authors: Schepis TS, Veliz PT, West BT, McCabe VV, Hulsey E, Kcomt L, McCabe SE
Source: Journal of addiction medicine [J Addict Med] 2025 Nov-Dec 01; Vol. 19 (6), pp. 722-725. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Feb 17.
Publication Type: Journal Article; Comparative Study
Language: English
Journal Info: Publisher: Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 101306759 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1935-3227 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 19320620 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Addict Med Subsets: MEDLINE
Imprint Name(s): Publication: [Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands] : Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Original Publication: Hagerstown, MD : Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
MeSH Terms: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders* , Substance-Related Disorders*/epidemiology , Substance-Related Disorders*/diagnosis , Child of Impaired Parents*/statistics & numerical data , Parents*, Humans ; Adolescent ; Female ; Male ; United States/epidemiology ; Child
Abstract: Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.
Purpose: Youth (children and adolescents under 18 yrs) exposed to parental substance use disorder (SUD) are at high risk for poor outcomes that include substance use, psychopathology, and child welfare involvement. With the changing SUD criteria from DSM-IV to DSM-5, revised estimates of youth exposed to parental SUD in the home are needed to provide more recent estimates and investigate whether the change from DSM-IV to DSM-5 may change estimated SUD exposure.
Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were used. Weighted counts of youth exposed to parental nonnicotine SUD in the home were estimated using both DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria, which were assessed for every substance used by the parent in the past year; further analyses estimated counts by parental race/ethnicity, sex, household income, urbanicity, and substance leading to the SUD diagnosis.
Results: Parents with DSM-IV SUD had an estimated 9,341,336 youth in their households, versus an estimated 16,937,783 using DSM-5 criteria (81.3% greater). Larger increases were observed in Asian (262.9%) or multiracial (161.9%) parents versus parents of other racial/ethnic groups and in parents with cannabis use disorder (246.4%), with smaller increases observed in parents with alcohol use disorder (71.2%).
Discussion: The change from DSM-IV to DSM-5 criteria resulted in a large increase in youth exposed to parental SUD. The health needs of these youth will require large-scale planning to limit poor outcomes in the roughly 17 million exposed youth; family-based interventions may help limit harms to all members of the family.
(Copyright © 2025 American Society of Addiction Medicine.)
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Grant Information: N/A Texas State University Translational Health Research Center; N/A University of Michigan Office of the Vice President for Research
Contributed Indexing: Keywords: adolescent; child; parent; substance use disorder
Entry Date(s): Date Created: 20251112 Date Completed: 20251113 Latest Revision: 20251113
Update Code: 20251113
DOI: 10.1097/ADM.0000000000001469
PMID: 41220059
Database: MEDLINE
Description
Abstract:Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest.<br />Purpose: Youth (children and adolescents under 18 yrs) exposed to parental substance use disorder (SUD) are at high risk for poor outcomes that include substance use, psychopathology, and child welfare involvement. With the changing SUD criteria from DSM-IV to DSM-5, revised estimates of youth exposed to parental SUD in the home are needed to provide more recent estimates and investigate whether the change from DSM-IV to DSM-5 may change estimated SUD exposure.<br />Methods: Nationally representative data from the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health were used. Weighted counts of youth exposed to parental nonnicotine SUD in the home were estimated using both DSM-IV and DSM-5 criteria, which were assessed for every substance used by the parent in the past year; further analyses estimated counts by parental race/ethnicity, sex, household income, urbanicity, and substance leading to the SUD diagnosis.<br />Results: Parents with DSM-IV SUD had an estimated 9,341,336 youth in their households, versus an estimated 16,937,783 using DSM-5 criteria (81.3% greater). Larger increases were observed in Asian (262.9%) or multiracial (161.9%) parents versus parents of other racial/ethnic groups and in parents with cannabis use disorder (246.4%), with smaller increases observed in parents with alcohol use disorder (71.2%).<br />Discussion: The change from DSM-IV to DSM-5 criteria resulted in a large increase in youth exposed to parental SUD. The health needs of these youth will require large-scale planning to limit poor outcomes in the roughly 17 million exposed youth; family-based interventions may help limit harms to all members of the family.<br /> (Copyright © 2025 American Society of Addiction Medicine.)
ISSN:1935-3227
DOI:10.1097/ADM.0000000000001469