CORROBORATION OF SELF-REPORTED ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION–A COMPARISON OF THE ACCOUNTS OF A GROUP OF MALE PRISONERS AND THOSE OF THEIR WIVES/COHABITEES

摘要

A major concern in alcohol studies is with the accurate measurement of alcohol consumption. Self-reported alcohol consumption, an accepted research technique in community surveys, is generally acknowledged to reflect reasonably valid results. A number of issues have been raised concerning the use of self-reports with special populations, such as criminals.This article describes how independent accounts of alcohol consumption by a group of male prisoners were obtained, and compares the extent to which these concurred with those provided by the offenders. The consistency which was found in the data in part rules out the possibility that only one group, the prisoners, have grossly distorted their reports, but does not exclude the possibility of common distortion.