Reliability of Self-reported Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk Behaviors in a Residential Drug Treatment Population

Abstract

This study examined test-retest reliabilities of self-reported human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) sexual and drug injection behaviors among 246 prior drug users admitted to either of two residential drug treatment programs in Westborough, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island, between June 1990 and September 1992. Participants, selected by their date of admission, were administered admission and reliability questionnaires pertaining to HIV risk behaviors, the latter at approximately 2 weeks after admission. Estimated reliabilities (kappa coefficients) of the sexual behaviors ranged from 0.72 to 0.91; those for the drug injection variables ranged from 0.63 to 0.98. These results were consistent across groups defined by sex and injection of drugs. The consistently good reliabilities are significant to the design of independent studies of drug treatment populations utilizing self-report measures of sexual and drug behaviors.

Is the recent emergence of mephedrone injecting in the United Kingdom associated with elevated risk behaviours and blood borne virus infection?

“…This may possibly lead to such users being under-represented. Secondly, the behavioural data used here are based on self-reports, the accuracy of which may be subject to recall bias; however, the reliability of self-reported risk behaviours among PWID has been shown in other studies [41,42]. Considering these issues, the findings presented here should be generalised with caution.…”

Ongoing susceptibility to hepatitis B virus infection among people who inject drugs in Sydney

“…While we cannot dismiss the possibility of under-reporting of risk behaviours potentially resulting in conservative estimates of risk, previous studies suggest that drug users provide reliable and valid responses. 47,48 Finally, the small sample size limited the power of the multivariate analyses and the precision of our estimates.…”

Sex in Australia: The rationale and methods of the Australian Study of Health and Relationships

“…The general finding is one of very high levels of test-retest reliability in population surveys 29 and in such diverse populations as STI clinic attenders, 30 residential drug treatment populations, 31 adolescents as young as 14 years of age 32 and psychiatric patients. 33 Good test-retest reliability has been demonstrated over periods up to 18 months apart.…”