Agreement between self-report and archival public service utilization data among chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems
1046 Views
Description:
Public service utilization data are often used as key outcomes in studies on homelessness. Although self-report data on these outcomes are accessible and cost-effective, various factors may affect retrospective recall in homeless populations. It is therefore necessary to establish validity of self-report to ensure the integrity of studies involving such populations. Participants (N = 134) were chronically homeless individuals with severe alcohol problems who participated in a housing first effectiveness trial (Larimer et al., 2009). The authors compared 30-day and 3-year retrospective self-report data on sobering center, jail, and hospital use with archival records corresponding to the same timeframes. Analyses indicated good category-specific agreement for 30-day self-report and archival data on sobering center (82%; k = .58) and jail use (89%; k = .60). Hospital use, however, was self-reported significantly more frequently than indicated by archival data (78%; k = .30). Three-year data showed inadequate agreement across all three variables. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
2011
Volume:
39
Issue:
6
Pages:
631-644