among U.S. adolescents, college students, and adult high school graduates through age 60. The survey is 
conducted annually, which allows us to examine long term trends. MTF findings identify emerging 
substance use problems, track substance use trends, and inform national policy and intervention strategies. 
Respondents are confidential, which means we cannot link their answers to them. Therefore, people may 
be more likely, to tell the truth. 
1 
In the Report:  One Form of Drug Use Showed a Sharp Increase in Use in 2018 
The most important findings to emerge from the 2018 survey is the dramatic increase in vaping by 
adolescents. Vaping is a relatively new phenomenon, so we are still developing measures related to this 
behavior, which included asking separately for the first time in 2017 about the vaping of three specific 
substances—nicotine, marijuana, and just flavoring. As the section on vaping in this monograph shows, 
there was a significant and substantial increase in 2018 in the vaping of all three of these substances, 
including some of the most substantial absolute increases MTF has ever tracked for any substance. Given 
that nicotine is involved in most vaping, and given that nicotine is a highly addictive substance, this 
presents a severe threat.
2 
Self-report statistics are great because they can help discover problems we were unaware of, such as vaping. 
Further, it helps us identify victimless crimes, or crimes to where there is no victim such as drug use, 
gambling, and underage drinking. Lastly, we uncover offenses that are not as serious such as shoplifting, 
which are less likely to be known to police. 
3 
However, self-report data also has its limitations. Respondents may exaggerate or underreport their 
criminal behavior, for various reasons. For example, in the class activity we do, many students did not 
know what they did was illegal behavior until the statute was read, so they would never have thought they 
committed a crime. Lastly, if we do not capture a large sample, we may limit who gets the survey. If we are 
surveying kids in school about substance abuse, but not reaching out to all kids even if they get suspended, 
we may miss important data. 
4 
Which Data Should We Use? 
In each type of data (official, self-report, and victimization) there are pros and cons. Additionally, each source is 
more likely to produce a better picture of what is occurring depending on the area of study. If a person wanted to 
1. Johnston, L.D., Miech, R.A., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.D., Schulenberg, J.E., & Patrick, M.E. (2018). MTF. 2018 Overview Key 
Findings on Adolescent Drug Use 
2. ohnston, L.D., Miech, R.A., O’Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.D., Schulenberg, J.E., & Patrick, M.E. (2018). MTF. 2018 Overview Key Findings 
on Adolescent Drug Use 
3. Hindelang, Hirschi, & Weis, (1981). Measuring delinquency. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Pubs. 
4. Lab, S., Holcomb, J., & King, W. (2013). Criminal justice: The Essentials. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 
ALISON S. BURKE, DAVID CARTER, BRIAN FEDOREK, TIFFANY MOREY, LORE RUTZ-BURRI, AND SHANELL
SANCHEZ
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