Reliability of Self-Reported Age of First Drug Use: Analysis of New York City Narcotics Register Data
- 1 January 1976
- journal article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in International Journal of the Addictions
- Vol. 11 (4), 611-618
- https://doi.org/10.3109/10826087609056174
Abstract
New York City Narcotics Register data were analyzed to determine the consistency of self-reported age of first drug use among multiple reports on a single individual. There were 15,263 individuals with two or more reports between January 1973 and April 1974 which specified age of first drug use. Discrepancies were noted in 68% of cases; in 31% the responses differed by 3 or more years. Even among reports from a single agency, there were discrepancies in 45% of cases. The degree of consistency was only slightly better when the analysis was restricted to subjects 20 years of age and younger. No comparable inconsistency was observed with respect to self-reported year of birth.Keywords
This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit:
- The New York City Narcotics Register: A Case StudyAmerican Journal of Public Health, 1974
- The Dynamics of a Heroin Addiction EpidemicScience, 1973
- Profile of a Heroin-Addiction EpidemicNew England Journal of Medicine, 1971