Drug Prevalence Panel Study Follow-ups (Graduating Seniors Into Adulthood) (1976 - 2024)

The MTF Panel study extends the work of the MTF Main study (@monitoringthefuture.drug_prevalence) by following a subsample of graduating seniors through the entire adult life course. The final year of high school is a key moment in the transition from adolescence to adulthood, making it a strategic starting point for longitudinal surveys. It is an important base year and is the final point at which a reasonably good national sample of an age-specific cohort can be drawn from schools.

Beginning with the class of 1976, a randomly selected sample of around 2,400 graduating seniors have taken follow-up surveys every two years from ages 19–30 and every five years starting at age 35. For young adults (19–30) each cohort’s follow-up sample is split into two random subsamples that are surveyed in alternate years (at ages 19/20, 21/22, 23/24, 25/26, 27/28, 29/30), so the Panel study obtains a representative sample from each cohort every year.

The Panel study now has over 120,000 individuals up to age 65 who were first surveyed in 12th grade at age 18. These data provide needed insight into the epidemiology and etiology of substance use and related behaviors, attitudes, and other factors. Repeating these annual cross-sectional surveys over time provides data to examine behavior change across history in consistent age segments of the adult life course and key subgroups.

Drugs

• Alcohol
• Amphetamines
• Any Drug other than Cannabis
• Any Illicit Drug
• Any Nicotine Use
• Any Prescription Drug
• Beer
• CBD
• Cannabis
• Cigarettes
• Cocaine
• Delta-8
• Driving After Having 5 or More Drinks
• Driving Under Influence of Alcohol
• Driving Under Influence of Any Drug O
• Driving Under Influence of Cannabis
• Fentanyl
• Hallucinogens
• Hallucinogens other than LSD
• Heroin
• Inhalants
• LSD
• Large Cigars
• Liquor
• MDMA (Ecstasy, Molly)
• Methamphetamine
• Methaqualone (Quaaludes)
• Narcotics other than Heroin
• Nicotine Pouches
• Sedatives (Barbiturates)
• Small Cigars
• Smokeless Tobacco
• Tobacco using a Hookah
• Tranquilizers
• Vaping Cannabis
• Vaping Nicotine

Reporting windows

• 10+ Drinks
• 12 Month
• 2 Week
• 30 Day
• 5+ Drinks
• Daily
• Half Pack or Mo
• Half-Pack+/day