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Are reconstructed self-reports of drinking reliable?
K A Grant1, L T Arciniega, J S Tonigan
1Department of Psychology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131-1161, USA.
Addiction (Abingdon, England)
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Reconstructing missed interview data by asking clients to recall past drinking habits is a viable method. Remote reconstruction offers reasonably accurate alcohol use estimates, with no systematic bias found.
Area of Science:
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Substance Abuse Research
Background:
- Missed follow-up interviews in clinical trials can lead to data gaps.
- Researchers may attempt to reconstruct data through retrospective recall.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the reliability of reconstructing missed alcohol use data via remote recall.
- To determine if retrospective self-reports accurately estimate past drinking behavior.
Main Methods:
- 57 clinical trial participants recalled drinking over a 12-month period.
- Recall data were collected an average of 33 weeks after the missed interview.
- Reconstructed reports were compared to original self-reports from the missed interview.
Main Results:
- Reconstructed data provided reasonably accurate estimates for global alcohol use variables.
- No systematic over- or under-reporting bias was detected in reconstructed data.
- Some variables, like total drinks consumed, showed higher reported intake during reconstruction.
Conclusions:
- Remote reconstruction of missed alcohol use data is a reliable method for certain variables.
- Discrepancies were not linked to the delay period or participant characteristics.
- This technique can help mitigate data loss in longitudinal studies.