Development and Implementation of a New Data Collection Instrument for the 1994 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

• NCJ Number: 167723
• Author(s): L A Kroutil; L Guess; M B Witt; L E Packer; B K Porter; J V Rachal; E R Cavanaugh; J Gfroerer; J Epstein
• Date Published: 1996
• Length: 250 pages
• Contract Number(s): 283-93-5409
• Sponsoring Agency: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Admin (SAMHSA)
• Corporate Author: RTI International
• Sale Source: SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Questionnaire
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

An improved instrument has been developed for the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) that is based on a core module design and that is intended to enhance the clarity of questions and ease of administration.

Abstract

The core module design makes it possible to add questions on emerging policy and research topics while maintaining the basic substance use prevalence measures consistently over time. New editing procedures have been designed in which all possible reports of drug use and nonuse within each core set of questions are considered in determining whether respondents are drug users. Findings from the 1994 NHSDA are presented for both new and old versions of the instrument. The report also provides information on the background and history of the NHSDA, results of methodological studies of the NHSDA instrument, information on implementation of the new instrument, and details on how the instrument has been changed. Drug use prevalence estimates generated by the new and old versions of the instrument are compared and analyzed, and recommendations for interpreting data from the 1994 NHSDA are offered. Appendixes contain further information on statistical procedures and drug use estimates, along with answer sheets from the new and old versions of the instrument. 25 references, 20 tables, and 1 figure