Recanting of Earlier Reported Drug Use by Young Adults (From The Validity of Self-Reported Drug Use: Improving the Accuracy of Survey Estimates, P 59-80, 1997, Lana Harrison and Arthur Hughes, eds. - See NCJ 167339)

• NCJ Number: 167342
• Author(s): L D Johnston; P M O'Malley
• Date Published: 1997
• Length: 22 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01-DA-01411
• Sale Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: DCC

Annotation

This article examines the extent to which young adults recant in follow-up surveys earlier reported drug use, the extent to which recanting varies by type of drug and type of respondent, and the extent to which the findings have implications for interpreting prevalence rates for cross-sectional studies of adults.

Abstract

The study examines recanting rates in nationally representative samples of high school seniors (18-year-olds) surveyed in the Monitoring the Future study as they are followed up on seven occasions through age 32. For the illegal drugs examined (marijuana, cocaine, and lysergic acid diethylamide), recanting rates were quite modest; for the psychotherapeutic drugs, they were more substantial. In general, there were no large individual differences in recanting rates as a function of sex, household composition, community size, or education level. Consistent with previous research, minorities (particularly African Americans) had somewhat higher rates of recanting, as did certain occupations, namely the military, police, and firefighting. In general, the evidence is quite good for validity of self-reported (by mail) lifetime use of illegal drugs in young adulthood. Figures, table, notes, references