Report · Culture

Four in ten don't know anyone with a substance use problem

Reading

A third of Americans (33%) say they are close to someone with a substance use problem, including 22% who describe the relationship as very close, a November 2025 Verasight survey finds. Smaller shares of all adults are somewhere in between (14%) or say they are not close to the person they know (13%).

The remaining 40% do not know anyone with a substance use problem at all.

Topline

single choice

Topline distribution

Four in ten don't know anyone with a substance use problem.

If you know someone with a substance use problem, how close are you to that person?

  • Not applicable- I do not know someone with a substance use problem 40.4%
  • 5 - very close 22.4%
  • 3 13.7%
  • 4 10.7%
  • 1 - not very close 6.5%
  • 2 6.3%

2025 · base n 1,000 · +/- 3.2%

Module 2

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2025-11-14 → 2025-11-20
Base (unweighted)
1,000
Margin of error
+/- 3.2%
Module
Module 2

Source

Citation

Verasight APHA Omnibus Survey #2025-148, fielded November 14-20, 2025, N=1,000 US adults age 18+, +/- 3.2%.

https://reports.verasight.io/r/verasight-apha-2025

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.