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17 Canadian J. Criminology & Corrections 326 (1975)
Recent Studies of the Validity and Reliability of Self-Reported Drug Use, 1970-1974

handle is hein.journals/cjccj17 and id is 616 raw text is: Recent Studies of the Validity and Reliability of Self- Reported Drug Use, 1970-1974 REGINALD G. SMART ASSOCIATE RESEARCH DIRECTOR EVALUATION STUDIES DEPARTMENT ADDICTION RESEARCH FOUNDATION TORONTO, ONTARIO L'auteur fait la revue de r6centes 6tudes sur la validit6 et la sfiret6 de l'auto-ddclaration de l'usage de drogue. I1 conclut qu'il s'est fait peu d'6tudes sur la sfiret6 des tests et contre-tests, mais que ce qui existe indique une grande sfiret6. Les 6tudes sur la validit6 sont plus frdquentes et plus vari6es. Elles indiquent, en g6n6ral, une grande validit6, mais il faudrait mener plus d'6tudes sur la sous-d6claration. A paper by Whitehead and Smart1972 reported a variety of researches on the validity and reliability of self-reported drug use up to about 1970. This paper concentrated mainly on studies made by the authors them- selves with youthful populations. Since that review *a large amount of published and unpublished material relevant to these issues has appeared. Not all of it is readily accessible to the reader of the standard journals. For these reasons and because drug use studies still use self-report data a review of the new evidence is in order. Parenthetically, it might be noted that a review of drug use epidemiology by Mercer and Smart1974 turned up some 200 studies in 20 countries most of them using self-report techniques. Problems of validity and reliability in drug use studies continue to be important because such studies ask for a report of illegal behaviours or at least peccadilloes -such as alcohol or solvent use. A further problem is that research concerns highly deviant or criminal populations whose veracity is automatically suspect for the most cynical observors. Also several studies of the reporting of alcohol intake have been made and a review (Pernanen, 1974) indicates that underreporting of total consump- tion by surveys is 50 or 60 per cent and most serious for heavy drinkers. Since drug use studies continue to be done at an unabated rate it is important to consider the reliability and validity of self-report estimates and the best ways of establishing such reports. Consequently, the pur- pose of this paper is to review recent studies related to these issues and to report unpublished data on the validity of several types of approach to self-report questionnaires. The earlier review concluded that there