Cited by 1,331Adolescent Health and BehaviorsAdolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthSubstance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes

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Assessment of factors affecting the validity of self-reported health-risk behavior among adolescents: evidence from the scientific literature

Brener, Nancy D, Billy, John O.G, Grady, William R·2003·Journal of Adolescent Health

DOI 10.1016/s1054-139x(03)00052-1

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Abstract

We reviewed the existing empirical literature to assess cognitive and situational factors that may affect the validity of adolescents' self-reports of alcohol and other drug use, tobacco use, behaviors related to unintentional injuries and violence, dietary behaviors, physical activity, and sexual behavior. Specifically, we searched for peer-reviewed journal articles published in 1980 or later that examined the factors affecting self-report of the six categories of behavior listed above. We also searched for studies describing objective measures for each behavior. Self-reports of each of six types of health-risk behaviors are affected by both cognitive and situational factors. These factors, however, do not threaten the validity of self-reports of each type of behavior equally. The importance of assessing health-risk behaviors as part of research activities involving adolescents necessitates the use of self-report measures. Researchers should familiarize themselves with the threats to validity inherent in this type of assessment and design research that minimizes these threats as much as possible.

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“However, several biases may affect the validity and reliability of subjective measures [124, 127, 128], such as the measure’s sensitivity [73, 129] or individual’s subjectivity [11].”
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“ability to collect data in a neutral environment (Brener et al., 2003; Probst and Tapsell, 2005).”
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Xing, Y., Ji, C.-Y., & Zhang, L. (2006) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2006.03.014 · Cited by 67
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“Threats to the validity of self-reported health risk behavior by adolescents include cognitive and situational factors such as social desirability, concern about stigma, and perceived confidentiality (Brener et al. 2003a).”
Effectiveness of a Web-Based Brief Alcohol Intervention and Added Value of Normative Feedback in Reducing Underage Drinking: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Spijkerman, R., Roek, M. A. E., Vermulst, A. A., Lemmers, L., Huiberts, A., & Engels, R. C. M. E. (2010) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/jmir.1465 · Cited by 65
“However, a number of studies confirmed the validity of self-reports of alcohol use [54-57] suggesting that self-reports can be used to assess drinking behavior.”
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Adolescent risk behaviours and mealtime routines: does family meal frequency alter the association between family structure and risk behaviour?
Levin, K. A., Kirby, J., & Currie, C. E. (2011) · Health Education Research · doi:10.1093/her/cyr084 · Cited by 66
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“However, the literature suggests that self-administered anonymous questionnaires encourage reporting the truth, especially concerning sensitive topics.(27,28)”
Background
Romance, risk, and replication: Can consumer choices and risk-taking be primed by mating motives?
Shanks, D. R., Vadillo, M. A., Riedel, B., Clymo, A., Govind, S., Hickin, N., Tamman, A. J. F., & Puhlmann, L. M. C. (2015) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/xge0000116 · Cited by 67
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Hoffmann, J. P., & Jones, M. S. (2020) · Trauma Violence & Abuse · doi:10.1177/1524838020979674 · Cited by 72
“Studies have also identified biases in adolescent reports of substance use (e.g., Brener et al., 2003).”
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Agreement between an online dietary assessment tool (myfood24) and an interviewer-administered 24-h dietary recall in British adolescents aged 11–18 years
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“improve data quality, it can help standardise the questions and questioning sequence, it makes the processing of data easy, it produces immediate results and it increases privacy and confidentiality((5,6,7)).”
How do students study in STEM courses? Findings from a light-touch intervention and its relevance for underrepresented students
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“However, selfreport data is used quite often in psychological studies and has shown to be accurate when the respondent understands the question and when they do not fear reprisal [42].”
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Increased Risk for School Violence‐Related Behaviors Among Adolescents With Insufficient Sleep
Hildenbrand, A. K., Daly, B. P., Nicholls, E., Brooks‐Holliday, S., & Kloss, J. D. (2013) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12044 · Cited by 63
Smoking, alcohol consumption and mental health: Data from the Brazilian study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA)
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The Relationship between Teacher Leadership and School Climate: Findings from a Teacher-Leadership Project
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Subjective reports of children’s sleep duration: Does the question matter? A literature review
Matricciani, L. (2013) · Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2013.01.002 · Cited by 68
How accurate are adolescents in portion-size estimation using the computer tool Young Adolescents' Nutrition Assessment on Computer (YANA-C)?
Vereecken, C. A., Dohogne, S., Covents, M., & Maes, L. (2010) · British Journal Of Nutrition · doi:10.1017/s0007114510000127 · Cited by 63
Consistency of Self-Reported Concussion History in Adolescent Athletes
Wojtowicz, M. A., Iverson, G. L., Silverberg, N. D., Mannix, R., ZAFONTE, R. D., Maxwell, B., & Berkner, P. D. (2016) · Journal of Neurotrauma · doi:10.1089/neu.2016.4412 · Cited by 63
Social Monitoring for Public Health
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Impact of laws restricting the sale of tobacco to minors on adolescent smoking and perceived obtainability of cigarettes: an intervention–control pre–post study of 19 European Union countries
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“Furthermore, surveys conducted in school-based settings have resulted in higher prevalence rates than surveys conducted at home [39].”
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Method
Dating Violence Victimization and Perpetration Rates Among High School Students
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Descriptive, Injunctive, and Collective Norms: An Expansion of the Theory of Normative Social Behavior (TNSB)
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“Data used in this study come from self-reported measures, and so responses may have fallen prey to social desirability biases, as students (particularly male students) may have refrained from reporting risk behaviors (Brener et al., 2003).”
Method
Efficacy of a Brief Image-Based Multiple-Behavior Intervention for College Students
Werch, C. E., Moore, M., Bian, H., DiClemente, C. C., Ames, S. C., Weiler, R. M., Thombs, D. L., Pokorny, S. B., & Huang, I. (2008) · Annals of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12160-008-9055-6 · Cited by 61
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Adolescents risky MP3-player listening and its psychosocial correlates
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“As no studies are available on the reliability and validity of self-reports in this specific research area, there is a risk for both over-reporting and under-reporting [24].”
Background
Patterns of electronic cigarette use in current and ever users among college students in France: a cross–sectional study
Tavolacci, M., Vasiliu, A., Romo, L., Kotbagi, G., Kern, L., & Ladner, J. (2016) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2016-011344 · Cited by 61
“Self-reported substance use questionnaires have, however, been shown to be reliable for the substances studied.(54)”

Authors: Brener, N. D., Billy, J. O. G., & Grady, W. R.
Affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US)
Battelle (US)
Corresponding author: Brener, Nancy D
ORCID: Brener, Nancy D
Venue: Journal of Adolescent Health
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Published: 2003-12
Volume: 33
Issue: 6
Pages: 436-457
ISSN: 1054-139X (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1016/s1054-139x(03)00052-1
OpenAlex: W2087261951
Cited by: 1,331
References: 108
Citations by year: 2026: 43 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 43 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 74 · 2020: 69 · 2019: 76 · 2018: 88 · 2017: 82 · 2016: 91 · 2015: 113 · 2014: 87 · 2013: 86 · 2012: 55
FWCI: 3.11
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Adolescent Health (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Health and Behaviors
Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
Keywords: self-report validity, adolescent health risk behaviors, alcohol consumption, drug use, tobacco use, unintentional injuries, violence, dietary behavior, physical activity, sexual behavior, cognitive factors, situational factors, objective measures
MeSH terms: Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Alcoholism, Feeding Behavior, Humans, Risk-Taking, Self-Assessment, Sexual Behavior, Tobacco Use Disorder, Violence, Substance-Related Disorders

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Assessment of factors affecting the validity of self-reported health-risk behavior among adolescents: evidence from the scientific literature

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