Assessing Reliability of a Change in Survey Item Terminology from “Marijuana” to “Cannabis” Among a Sample of U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults

Introduction: To determine whether changing survey terminology affects measurement reliability among adolescents and young adults.Methods: A convenience sample online survey was conducted (September–October 2023) among respondents aged 15–24 years (N = 1550). Inter-item reliability was measured by recording responses to one item asking about ever marijuana use (with a list of examples/slang), and one of two versions asking about ever cannabis use (with a list of examples/slang, and one version included “marijuana” as an example). Kendall’s tau-b correlation coefficients were calculated to response pairs overall and stratified by age or race/ethnicity.Results: High concordance was observed between self-reported marijuana use and the cannabis use condition with marijuana as an example (τb: 0.822, p < 0.001) and without (τb: 0.828, p < 0.001). Concordance remained high when stratified by age and race/ethnicity, with the lowest concordance found among Black non-Hispanic respondents (τb: 0.781, p < 0.001).Conclusion Surveys of adolescents and young adults measuring self-reported marijuana use could use the term “cannabis” with minimal impact on reliability, thus contributing to continuity in reporting of prevalence and other survey estimates to inform cannabis policy

Psychometrics · Survey sampling · Terminology · Validity · Young adult · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes · Survey Methodology and Nonresponse