Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA)

What is SAMHDA?
What are the different types of data files?
What online analysis tools are available?
What data are available as free downloadable PUFs?
Resources

What is SAMHDA?

SAMHDA is a one-stop shop for SAMHSA public use data with online analysis tools. It is maintained by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality (CBHSQ).

What are the different types of data files?

Public-use files (PUFs): a full data set treated with confidentiality protections. The exact confidentiality protections vary by data program and more information on specific data treatments can be found in each PUF’s codebook. It does not contain all variables.

Restricted-use files (RUFs): a full data set (often called ‘microdata’). The files used for RDAS do not contain all variables. Microdata files with all variables are by application only. See the Research Data Center site.

Use Quick Statistics to create tables for some data collections.

Check out the State and Substate Viz!

What online analysis systems are available?

Public-Use Data Analysis System (PDAS)

• Uses PUFs
• Does not contain all variables

Restricted-Use Data Analysis System (RDAS)

• Uses RUF data with some disclosure protection applied
• Does not contain all variables
• Includes certain geographic identifiers, including state
• Shows only combined combined-year NSDUH data, so no single-year estimates

Additional Considerations

• PDAS and RDAS will not return results that fail to comply with CBHSQ's disclosure limitations.
• Codebooks show when you are within the data.
• Systems include the following data collections:
  • Mental Health Client-Level Data (MH-CLD)
  • National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services
  • National Survey on Drug Use and Health
  • Treatment Episode Data Sets, Admissions and Discharges

What data are available as free downloadable PUFs at https://www.datafiles.samhsa.gov/data-sources?

Files formats include ASCII, delimited, R, SAS, SPSS, and Stata. Codebooks are available on each PUF page. *N-SUMHSS is the combined N-SSATS/N-MHSS collection.

Resources

• Unsure of what data collection you need? Try the Data Source Finder.
• Want to learn more about different data collections? The data sources page has more information.
• Need a video tutorial? Please see the collection of How-To Videos.
• Looking for sample publications that have used CBHSQ data? See the SAMHDA Bibliography.
• Need more help? Please try the Help page or contact CBHSQRequest@SAMHSA.hhs.gov.