Reliability in Adolescent Reporting of Clinician Counseling, Health Care Use, and Health Behaviors

BACKGROUND: Accurate measures of health-care use by adolescents would be useful in managed care quality assurance, public health surveillance, and health-care research. OBJECTIVE: To assess test-retest reliability and factors associated with reliability of adolescent reports of clinician counseling, preventive health services, and health behaviors. RESEARCH DESIGN: A convenience sample of high school students (N = 253) completed identical paper-and-pencil surveys in school and 2 weeks apart. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the influence on response reliability of individual factors and question item characteristics. Reliability was assessed using Cohen kappa. RESULTS: Kappa values for specific questions varied widely (0.94-0.33). Median kappa values for behavioral, counseling, and health-service questions were 0.74, 0.63, 0.56, respectively. Lower sentence complexity, certain time frames (ever, age at first occurrence, last time), and behavioral question type were associated with greater reliability in adolescent reporting (final model R2 = 0.54). Adolescents' age and ethnicity were not predictive of reliability, though girls were slightly more reliable reporters than boys. Overall, the prevalence of responses at times 1 and 2 were similar; 95% of responses at time 2 were within 5 percentage points of time-1 estimates (SD = 2.4). CONCLUSIONS: The reliability of adolescent reporting was strongly influenced by question characteristics such as sentence complexity and time frame; these should be carefully considered in the construction of questionnaires for adolescents. Adolescents can be an accurate source of health-care service data

Adolescent health · Family medicine · Health care · Kappa · Reliability (semiconductor) · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse

• Data Sources for Measuring Comorbidity

  Carrie N Klabunde, Linda C Harlan et al.•Medical Care•2006

  Añadir item

• Do Patients Consistently Report Comorbid Conditions Over Time

  Carrie N Klabunde, Bryce B Reeve et al.•Medical Care•2005

  Añadir item

• Validation of Disability Status, a Claims-based Measure of Functional Status for Cancer Treatment and Outcomes Studies

  Amy J Davidoff, Lisa D Gardner et al.•Medical Care•2014

  Añadir item

• Disenrollment From Medicaid After Recent Cancer Diagnosis

  Scott D Ramsey, Steven B Zeliadt et al.•Medical Care•2008

  Añadir item

• Availability of Medical Care Services in Drug Treatment Clinics Associated With Lower Repeated Emergency Department Use

  Christine Laine, Yi‐Ting Lin et al.•Medical Care•2005

  Añadir item

• Is Cancer Protective for Subsequent Alzheimer’s Disease Risk? Evidence From the Utah Population Database

  Heidi A Hanson, Kevin P Horn et al.•The Journals of Gerontology…•2016

  Añadir item

• Psychosocial outcomes and peer influences among multiracial adolescents in the United States

  Open Access•Stephanie A Grilo, John Santelli et al.•Frontiers in Public Health•2023

  Añadir item

• Reliability of self-report of health in juvenile offenders

  Dianna T Kenny, Julia D Grant•Vulnerable Children and Youth…•2007

  Añadir item

• Infrequency of Sexually Transmitted Disease Screening Among Sexually Experienced U.S. Female Adolescents

  Open Access•Lynne C Fiscus, Carol A Ford et al.•Perspectives on Sexual and…•2004

  Añadir item

• Perceived Risk of Chlamydial and Gonococcal Infection Among Sexually Experienced Young Adults In the United States

  Open Access•Carol A Ford, James Jaccard et al.•Perspectives on Sexual and…•2004

  Añadir item

• Infrequency of Sexually Transmitted Disease Screening Among Sexually Experienced U.S. Female Adolescents

  Open Access•Lynne C Fiscus, Carol A Ford et al.•Perspectives on Sexual and…•2004

  Añadir item

• Perceived Risk of Chlamydial and Gonococcal Infection Among Sexually Experienced Young Adults In the United States

  Open Access•Carol A Ford, James Jaccard et al.•Perspectives on Sexual and…•2004

  Añadir item

• Reliability of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey Questionnaire

  Nancy D Brener, Janet L Collins et al.•American Journal of Epidemiology•1995

  Añadir item

• High agreement but low kappa

  Open Access•Domenic V Cicchetti, Alvan R Feinstein•Journal of Clinical Epidemiology•1990

  Añadir item

• High agreement but low Kappa

  Open Access•Alvan R Feinstein, Domenic V Cicchetti•Journal of Clinical Epidemiology•1990

  Añadir item

• Building the capacity of schools to improve the health of the nation

  Lloyd J Kolbe, Janet Collins et al.•American Psychologist•1997

  Añadir item

• Assessing Health System Provision of Adolescent Preventive Services

  Christina Bethell, Jonathan Klein et al.•Medical Care•2001

  Añadir item

• How Valid Are Medical Records and Patient Questionnaires for Physician Profiling and Health Services Research

  Kurt C Stange, Stephen J Zyzanski et al.•Medical Care•1998

  Añadir item

• Patients as Reliable Reporters of Medical Care Process

  Jonathan Betz Brown, Miriam E Adams•Medical Care•1992

  Añadir item

• Asking Sensitive Questions

  Roger Tourangeau, Tom W Smith et al.•Public Opinion Quarterly•1996

  Añadir item