What Are the Consequences of Relying upon Self-Reports of Sexually Transmitted Diseases? Lessons Learned about Recanting in a Longitudinal Study

Abstract Purpose Self-reports are the standard measure of STD history used in survey research. We explored to what extent self-reports of ever having an STD are recanted in a follow-up data collection. Methods Using the National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM), we assessed consistency over time in...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of adolescent health 2009-08, Vol.45 (2), p.187-192
Main Authors: Dariotis, Jacinda K., Ph.D, Pleck, Joseph H., Ph.D, Sonenstein, Freya L., Ph.D, Astone, Nan M., Ph.D, Sifakis, Frangiscos, Ph.D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adolescent Males
Adolescents
Adult
Biological and medical sciences
Epidemiology. Vaccinations
General aspects
Health Surveys
Humans
Infectious diseases
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Medical sciences
Men
Pediatrics
Recanting
Reproducibility of Results
Research Design
Self-Reports
Selfreport
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases - epidemiology
Truth Disclosure
Underreporting
Young Adult
Young men
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Abstract Purpose Self-reports are the standard measure of STD history used in survey research. We explored to what extent self-reports of ever having an STD are recanted in a follow-up data collection. Methods Using the National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM), we assessed consistency over time in self-reports of ever having an STD in a sample of young men transitioning from adolescence to young adulthood (aged 15–26 years), a population in which STDs are particularly prevalent. Results Approximately 7% of all sexually experienced young men rescinded STD self-reports over time. Thus, self-reports at one point in time likely underestimate true STD history, using earlier self-reports as the criterion. Among men who ever report an STD, 94-98% recant their reports in later waves. Conclusions Knowledge of the extent of underreporting can potentially be used to adjust cross-sectional estimates of STDs based on survey self-reports. These study findings move us one step closer to estimating just how much underreporting of STDs in self-reports is.
ISSN:1054-139X
1879-1972
DOI:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2008.12.024