Establishing drug use questionnaire concurrent validity: methodological considerations.

Abstract

The recent call for comprehensive drug education programs has provided a multitude of opportunities for health education specialists. Unfortunately, not all drug education programs are effective. Because of their lack of effectiveness, there is a need for comprehensive evaluation of existing programs. In order to conduct high quality evaluations, valid data collection procedures must be used. Probably the most common method of collecting data in drug use studies is the self-report questionnaire. One method of establishing the validity of these questionnaires is through urinalysis-based concurrent validity studies. Despite results similar to laboratory tests, investigators may have increased confidence in the results obtained from their questionnaires.