To fill these gaps in knowledge, we sought to estimate the risk and identify the predictors of transition from substance use to dependence in a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The specific goals of this study were: 1) to estimate the general and racial-ethnic specific cumulative probability of developing dependence among nicotine, alcohol, cannabis and cocaine users, and, 2) to assess the association between several socio-demographic characteristics, psychiatric comorbidity and drug-use related variables and the risk of transition to dependence among users of these substances.
