Are Australians who use amphetamine / methamphetamine more likely to have high levels of psychological distress, compared to those who do not use?
Australians who used methamphetamine or amphetamine† in the past 12 months were significantly more likely to report high or very high levels of psychological distress compared to those who did not use methamphetamine or amphetamine in the past 12 months.
22% of Australians who used methamphetamine or amphetamine in the past 12 months reported high levels of psychological distress, compared to 11% of non- users.
23% of Australians who used methamphetamine or amphetamine in the past 12 months reported very high levels of psychological distress, compared to 5% of non-users.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NCETA secondary analysis, 2024).
Note: Significance established using MOE provided by AIHW.
† Methamphetamine or amphetamine: The NDSHS asked about the use of methamphetamine and amphetamine (including the street names speed, crystal and ice) in 2022–2023. In 2019 and prior years, the NDSHS asked about the use of “Meth/amphetamines”, which also included the non‑medical use of pharmaceutical amphetamines, such as Ritalin (methylphenidate) and pseudoephedrine based cold and flu tablets. The change represents a break in the timeseries. Results for methamphetamine and amphetamine in 2022–2023 should not be compared to meth/amphetamines results from previous survey waves.