Drug Users’ Test-Retest Reliability of Self-Reported Alcohol Use on the Risk Behavior Assessment

Abstract

Using data collected from 218 street drug users in 11 cities in the United States, we examined the test-retest reliability of the alcohol-related items on the Risk Behavioral Assessment (RBA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1993), an instrument commonly used in drug abuse research. With a 48-hr retest interval, findings indicated excellent to good reliability for the following variables: age of first use, ever used alcohol, and days used alcohol in last 30 days. Items with fair to poor reliability were number of occasions used alcohol in last 30 days without injecting and number of times used alcohol immediately before or during sex. These findings suggest that self-report items on alcohol use from the RBA are generally reliable, particularly items that ask for more general, rather than specific, information.

RÉSUMÉ

Nous avons examiné la fiabilité des tests+répétition des résultats en relation avec l’alcool par le Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA; institut national sur l’usage de drogue 1993). C’est un instrument de travail qu’on utilise normalement pour les recherches de la toxicomanie. Les participants étaient 218 consommateurs de drogue de rue qui réagirent au RBA deux fois avec répétition dans un intervalle de 48 heures. Les rapports ont indiqué une fiabilité d’excellente à bonne: Âge de première consommation, consommation d’alcool constante et consommation d’alcool journalière dans les 30 derniers jours. Et les résultats avec une fiabilité de moyenne à insuffisante étaient un groupe à consommation d’alcool occasionnelle dans les 30 derniers jours sans injection et number d’occasions ou l’on consomme de l’alcohol immédiatement avant ou pendant la séxualite. Ces résultants suggerent que les questions sur l’alcool du RBA sont généralement reliable, particulièrement les questions qui demande de l’information plus générale que spécifique.

RESUMEN

Examinamos los artículos relacionados al alcohol en el Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1993) utilizando fiabilidad de prueba-contraprueba, un instrumento comúnmente usado en la investigación del abuso de drogas. Los participantes eran 218 usuarios de drogas ilegales cuyos respondieron al RBA dos veces con un intervalo de 48-horas de contraprueba. Los resultados indicaron buena ha excelente fiabilidad de edad del primer uso, uso de alcohol, y el numero de días que usaron alcohol en los últimos 30 días. Artículos con justa a pobre fiabilidad eran; número de ocasiones del uso de alcohol en los últimos 30 días sin inyectar y el número de veces que consumieron alcohol inmediatamente antes o durante relaciones sexuales. Estos resultados sugieren que los artículos de auto-reporte del uso de alcohol del RBA son generalmente confiables, particularmente los artículos que piden información general, más que información especifica.

Keywords :

• reliability
• psychometric properties
• risk behavior assessment
• self-report

THE AUTHORS

Mark E. Johnson, Ph.D., received his doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1985. He is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services at the University of Alaska Anchorage. His areas of interest include the relationship between substance use and misuse and HIV risk behaviors, ethical and practice issues in rural and frontier communities, and coexisting mental and substance use disorders.

Deborah K. Pratt, B.S., received her B.S. in Psychology from Colorado State University in 2001. At the time of this research, she was a graduate student in the M.S. Clinical Psychology program at the University of Alaska Anchorage and worked as a research associate at the Center for Behavioral Health Research and Services. Her areas of interest include clinical and neuropsychological research.

David B. Neal, M.S., received his M.S. in Statistics from Utah State University in 2001. At the time of this research, he was an Assistant Research Professor at the Center of Behavioral Health Research and Services. His areas of interest include statistical programming, teaching undergraduate statistics, applied research, and graphical methods.

Dennis G. Fisher, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology and Public Health from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1984. He was Director of the Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at the University of Alaska Anchorage and is now the Director of the Center for Behavioral Research and Services at California State University, Long Beach. His major area of interest is the relationship between infectious disease and substance misuse.