Test-retest reliability and validity information for a high school drug use questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Adolescent Health
• Substance Use Research

Background:

• Assessing adolescent drug use accurately is crucial for public health.
• Reliability and validity of self-report measures are essential for meaningful data collection.
• Previous questionnaires may lack robust psychometric properties for this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the test-retest reliability and validity of an anonymous high school drug use questionnaire.
• To determine if students accurately report their drug consumption.
• To assess the utility of a lie scale in identifying potential response bias.

Main Methods:

• Administered an anonymous drug use questionnaire to high school students.
• Conducted test-retest assessments eight weeks apart.
• Analyzed reliability of individual drug use items, composite scores, and a nine-item lie scale.

Main Results:

• All drug use items and composite scores demonstrated high test-retest reliability.
• The nine-item lie scale yielded highly consistent results across both testing periods.
• Most students indicated willingness to honestly report cannabis and opium/heroin use.
• Lie scale scores suggested minimal defensiveness or social desirability bias.

Conclusions:

• The anonymous questionnaire is a reliable and valid tool for assessing high school drug use.
• Adolescents appear willing to provide honest self-reports on sensitive substance use topics.
• The lie scale effectively measures response bias in this population.