Measurements, instruments, scales, and tests - Characteristics of inconsistent respondents who have "ever used" drugs in a school-based sample

This study examines the predictors of inconsistent responses from adolescen ts to questions about whether they ever used alcohol, cigarettes, and marij uana, Male adolescents had significantly higher rates of inconsistent respo nses than female adolescents. Black and Hispanic adolescents had significan tly higher rates of inconsistent responses regarding ever using alcohol and cigarettes (only for Black) than White adolescents. The subjects' living s tatus and academic achievements were significant predictors of inconsistent responses regarding ever using marijuana. Thus, these results are consiste nt with the notion that inconsistent responses may bias the estimation of t he prevalence of ever using drugs in multivariate analyses.