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Reliability of prisoners' attitudes to their drinking behaviour
Psychological Medicine
|August 1, 1975
Summary
This study on male prisoners found that individuals who drink heavily or not at all are more reliable in self-reporting. Those with moderate drinking problems showed the least reliability in reporting their alcohol consumption.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Addiction Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Assessing the reliability of self-reported alcohol consumption is crucial in clinical and research settings.
- Understanding factors influencing reporting accuracy, such as drinking severity, is essential for valid data collection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the test-retest reliability of self-reported alcohol consumption in different drinking groups.
- To identify how problem drinking severity affects the accuracy of self-reported drinking habits.
Main Methods:
- A sample of male prisoners underwent a questionnaire followed by a structured interview.
- Three groups were compared: those admitting drinking problems, those admitting heavy drinking but denying problems, and control non-heavy drinkers.
Main Results:
- Non-heavy drinkers demonstrated high test-retest reliability.
- Individuals admitting heavy drinking but denying problem drinking showed the lowest reliability.
- The group admitting drinking problems and the heaviest drinkers exhibited the highest reliability.
Conclusions:
- Drinking severity significantly impacts the reliability of self-reported alcohol consumption.
- Individuals with extreme drinking patterns (very low or very high) may provide more reliable self-reports than those with intermediate problem drinking.