DOI: 10.3886/icpsr02155.v3
title: Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area Drug Study (DC*MADS), 1991: Household and Non-Household Populations
title: Version 3

description: The DC Metropolitan Area Drug Study (DC*MADS) was
conducted in 1991, and included special analyses of homeless and
transient populations and of women delivering live births in the DC
hospitals. DC*MADS was undertaken to assess the full extent of the
drug problem in one metropolitan area. The study was comprised of 16
separate studies that focused on different sub-groups, many of which
are typically not included or are under-represented in household
surveys.The DC*MADS: Household and Non-household Populations
examines the prevalence of tobacco, alcohol, and drug use among
members of household and non-household populations aged 12 and older
in the District of Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area (DC
MSA). The study also examines the characteristics of three
drug-abusing sub-groups: crack-cocaine, heroin, and needle users. The
household sample was drawn from the 1991 National Household Survey on
Drug Abuse (NHSDA). The non-household sample was drawn from the
DC*MADS Institutionalized and Homeless and Transient Population
Studies. Data include demographics, needle use, needle-sharing, and
use of tobacco, alcohol, cocaine, crack, inhalants, marijuana, hallucinogens, heroin, sedatives, stimulants, psychotherapeutics (non-medical use), tranquilizers, and analgesics.
description: Response Rates: For the household, institutional, and homeless studies, the
household/institutional response rates were 93.5 percent, 87.5 percent, and 82.6 percent, respectively. The individual interview response rates were 82.1 percent, 89.4 percent, and 86.1 percent. The overall response rates were 76.8 percent, 78.2 percent, and 71 percent.
description: The household and nonhousehold data were drawn from three
sources: (1) the DC MSA oversample of NATIONAL HOUSEHOLD SURVEY OF
DRUG ABUSE, 1991 (ICPSR 6128) (NHSDA), (2) the DC*MADS 1991
Institutionalized Population Study, and (3) WASHINGTON, DC,
METROPOLITAN AREA DRUG STUDY (DC*MADS), 1991: HOMELESS AND TRANSIENT
POPULATION (ICPSR 2346). The NHSDA oversample consisted of interviews
with 2,547 residents from a sample of 5,399 households and selected
group quarters (e.g., college dormitories, homeless shelters). The
Institutionalized Study consisted of 1,203 interviews with residents
of 42 institutions stratified into four groups: 888 interviews from 20
correctional institutions, 207 interviews from 6 psychiatric
institutions, 55 interviews from 7 noncorrectional institutions for
juveniles, and 73 interviews from 9 group homes. The Homeless and
Transient Population Study consisted of 908 interviews from four
overlapping sampling frames: 477 interviews with residents in 93
shelters, 224 interviews with patrons of 31 soup kitchens and food
banks, 143 interviews with "literally homeless" people from 18 major
cluster encampments, and 64 interviews with literally homeless people
from an area probability sample of 432 census blocks in the
MSA. Overlap between the samples may have occurred. The overlap was
minimized by eliminating institutions from the DC*MADS surveys that
would increase overlap. For example, students living in dormitories
were included in the NHSDA but not the DC*MADS Institutionalized
Study.
description: Datasets: 
DS1: Washington, DC, Metropolitan Area Drug Study (DC*MADS), 1991: Household and Non-Household Populations
description: For the Household Study: the civilian,
noninstitutionalized population of the coterminous United States
(Alaska and Hawaii excluded) aged 12 and older. For the
Institutionalized Study: persons in institutional (e.g., correctional
facilities, mental or psychiatric hospitals, noncorrectional
facilities for juveniles) and noninstitutional group quarters (e.g.,
group homes, transitional homes for people leaving treatment for
substance abuse). Nursing homes and hospitals or wards providing drug
and alcohol treatment were excluded. For the Homeless and Transient
Population Study: persons who were either literally homeless or at
imminent risk of becoming homeless, including persons who spent the
previous night in an emergency shelter, in a nondomicile (e.g., vacant
building, city park, car, or on the street), or who were using soup
kitchens or emergency food banks.
description: Users should note that the National Institute on
Drug Abuse does not make a public use file available for the DC*MADS
Institutionalized Population Study.