Pattern Reliability of Narcotics Addicts' Self-Reported Data: A Confirmatory Assessment of Construct Validity and Consistency

• NCJ Number: 165267
• Journal: Substance Use and Misuse Volume: 31 Issue: 9 Dated: (1996) Pages: 1189-1216
• Author(s): C-P Chou; Y-I Hser; M D Anglin
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 28 pages
• Grant Number(s): DA07382; DA03976; DA07699; DA00215; DA00139; DA00146
• Contract Number(s): D-0001-10
• Sponsoring Agency: California Dept of Alcohol and Drug Abuse; National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

Self-report data collected from 323 narcotics addicts in initial interviews in 1974-75 and followup interviews in 1985-86 were analyzed with respect to pattern reliability, the invariance of relationships among variables.

Abstract

The participants were all male addicts committed to the California Civil Addict Program during 1962-64. They completed interviews regarding their drug use patterns and property crimes committed. Three basic models were developed to assess pattern reliability and test the invariance on both measurement and structural models. Results confirmed pattern reliability in one of the model and indicated that in the absence of dependable objective measures, the explication of pattern reliability offers an alternative means of assessing the validity of self-report data. Tables, figures, and 45 references (Author abstract modified)