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Source: Survey Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Chicago
Resulting in 1 citation.
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Johnson, Timothy P. Mott, Joshua Adam |
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The Reliability of Self-Reported Age of Onset of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use Working Paper, Survey Research Laboratory and Health Research and Policy Center, November 2000 Cohort(s): Children of the NLSY79, NLSY79 Publisher: Survey Research Laboratory, University of Illinois Chicago Keyword(s): Child Self-Administered Supplement (CSAS); Data Quality/Consistency; Methods/Methodology; Substance Use Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher. AIMS: To examine the reliability of self-reported age of first substance use experiences among national samples of adult and child respondents. DESIGN: Survey responses from seven waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) were examined. PARTICIPANTS: Adult and child NLSY respondents reporting age of first tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and/or crack use during two or more survey interviews. MEASURMENTS: Four indicators of reliability: intraclass correlation coeffcients (ICC), mean and absolute mean differences in reported age, and reports consistent within one year. FINDINGS: The adjusted mean ICC for all comparison was 0.69. The adjusted mean difference in self-reported age of first substance use was -0.52 years and the adjusted absolute mean difference was 2.00 years. The adjusted percent of all comparisons reporting ages consistent within one year was 55.28%. More consistent reports were provided by adults, and in response to questions posed over 2 year as opposed to longer intervals. Respondent answers to questions concerned with first use of marijuana were generally found to be most reliabel; questions concerned with first use of crack were least reliable and reports of tobacco, alcohol and cocaine were intermediate. Logistic regression analyses also identified age, race, gender, edication, and poverty status as predictors of consistent reporting. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reports age of first substance use experiences, as currently collected via survey questionnaires, are of sufficient reliability for most current epidemiologic applications. For inquiries where age of substance use onset is itself a research focus, however, researchers should invest additional effort in improving the reliability of measurement. |
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Bibliography Citation
Johnson, Timothy P. and Joshua Adam Mott. "The Reliability of Self-Reported Age of Onset of Tobacco, Alcohol, and Illicit Drug Use." Working Paper, Survey Research Laboratory and Health Research and Policy Center, November 2000. |