Skip to main content
Log in

Influence of subject and interviewer characteristics on the reliability of young adults' self-reports of drinking

  • Published:
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The influence of subject and interviewer characteristics on the reliability of self-reports of alcohol consumption among young adults was investigated. Data were gathered from black and white college students of both sexes (N's=24) using a time-line procedure. The results snowed that these young adults provided highly reliable self-reports regarding their use of alcohol. Test-retest correlations for a criterion interval of 90 days were .96, .93, and .97 for the numbers of abstinent, moderate-drinking, and heavy-drinking days, respectively. Analyses also showed that white female subjects generally provided more reliable reports of abstinent and heavy-drinking days and that white female interviewers gathered more reliable reports across the three drinking disposition categories. These findings suggest that nonalcoholic young adults' retrospective reports of their drinking behavior can be reliably assessed using the time-line methodology. Future research is required to determine the validity of these self-reports and to understand the differential influence of subject and interviewer characteristics on the levels of reliability found.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bruning, J. L., & Kintz, B. L. (1968).Computational handbook of statistics. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cahalan, D., Cisin, I. R., & Crossley, H. M. (1969).American drinking practices. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, W. B., & Midanik, L. (1982). Alcohol use and alcohol problems among U.S. adults: Results of the 1979 national survey. InAlcohol consumption and related problems (pp. 3–52) (Alcohol and Health Monograph No. 1). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, R. L., & Mariait, G. A. (1981). Social modeling as a determinant of drinking behavior: Implications for prevention and treatment.Addictive Behaviors, 6, 233–239.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maisto, S. A., Sobell, M. B., Cooper, A. M., & Sobell, L. C. (1979). Test-retest reliability of retrospective self-reports in three populations of alcohol abusers.Journal of Behavioral Assessment, 1, 315–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maisto, S. A., Sobell, M. B., & Sobell, L. C. (1982). Reliability of self-reports of low ethanol consumption by problem drinkers over 18 months of follow-up.Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 8, 273–278.

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Farrel, T. J., Cutter, H. S. G., Bayog, R. D., Dentch, G., & Fortgang, J. (1984). Correspondence between one-year retrospective reports of pretreatment drinking by alcoholics and their wives.Behavioral Assessment, 6, 263–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polich, J. M. (1982). The validity of self-reports in alcoholism research.Addictive Behaviors, 7, 123–132.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rachel, J. V., Maisto, S. A., Guess, L. L., & Hubbard, R. L. (1982).Alcohol consumption and related problems (pp. 55–95) (Alcohol and Health Monograph No. 1). Rockville, MD: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobell, L. C., Cellucci, T., Nirenberg, T. D., & Sobell, M. B. (1982). Do quantity-frequency data underestimate drinking-related health risks?American Journal of Public Health, 72, 823–828.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobell, L. C., Maisto, S. A., Sobell, M. B., & Cooper, A. M. (1979). Reliability of alcohol abusers' self-reports of drinking behavior.Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 157–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobell, M. B., Maisto, S. A., Sobell, L. C., Cooper, A. M., Cooper, T., & Sanders, B. (1980). Developing a prototype for evaluating alcohol treatment effectiveness. In L. C. Sobell, M. B. Sobell, & E. Ward (Eds.),Evaluating alcohol and drug abuse treatment effectiveness (pp. 129–150). New York, Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobell, L. C., & Sobell, M. B. (1981). Effects of three interview factors on the validity of alcohol abusers' self-reports.American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 8, 225–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sobell, M. B., Sobell, L. C., Klajner, F., Pavan, D., & Basian, E. (1985). The reliability of a timeline method of assessing normal drinker college students' recent drinking history: Utility for alcohol research.Addictive Behaviors (in press).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Connors, G.J., Watson, D.W. & Maisto, S.A. Influence of subject and interviewer characteristics on the reliability of young adults' self-reports of drinking. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 7, 365–374 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960709

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00960709

Key words

Navigation