Author(s): The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Published: February 12th, 2013
Report Intro/Brief:
“In the United States, about 75 percent of youths who enter public high school as freshmen eventually graduate from high school in 4 years (or average freshman graduation rate). This is an important public health issue because, in general, adults who do not graduate from high school tend to have lower paying jobs than those who do and thus are at greater risk for living in poverty, lacking health insurance, and suffering from poor health. Moreover, high school dropouts typically have higher rates of substance use than high school graduates. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) asks respondents about their age, current school enrollment status, last grade completed, and age when they last attended school. For this report, these respondent characteristics are used to identify 12th grade aged youths and whether they have dropped out of school.”
-The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
