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PMID: 9562899 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Reliability and validity of self-report measures of HIV-related sexual behavior: progress since 1990 and recommendations for research and practice.

Archives of sexual behavior ·Vol. 27 ·No. 2 ·1998-04-00 ·Pages 155-80

Weinhardt LS, Forsyth AD, Carey MP, Jaworski BC, Durant LE

Abstract

The trustworthiness of self-reported sexual behavior data has been questioned since Kinsey's pioneering surveys of sexuality in the United States (Kinsey et al., 1948, 1953). In the era of HIV and AIDS, researchers and practitioners have employed a diversity of assessment techniques but they have not escaped the fundamental problem of measurement error. We review the empirical literature produced since Catania et al.'s (1990) review regarding reliability and validity of self-administered and automated questionnaires, face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, and self-monitoring approaches. We also provide specific recommendations for improving sexual behavior assessment. It is imperative that standardized self-report instruments be developed and used for sexual risk-behavior assessment.

MeSH Terms
Adolescent Adult Female HIV Seropositivity/psychology Health Planning Guidelines Humans Male Middle Aged Reproducibility of Results Research Risk-Taking Sexual Behavior/psychology Surveys and Questionnaires
Authors & Affiliations
5 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Weinhardt L S
Syracuse University, Department of Psychology, New York 13244-2340, USA.
Forsyth A D
Carey M P
Jaworski B C
Durant L E
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Article Info
Journal
Archives of sexual behavior
Abbr.
Arch Sex Behav
ISSN
0004-0002
DOI
10.1023/a:1018682530519
Published
1998-04-00
Pages
155-80
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
1273516
PMCID
PMC2452986
Subset
IM
Grants
NIMH NIH HHS · K21 MH001101-05 · United States
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1023/a:1018682530519 PMC Full Text View journal details
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