The validity of juvenile arrestees' drug use reporting: A gender comparison

Few studies investigating the validity of drug use reporting among arrestee s have included an adequate sample of females to study gender differences. This exploratory study examined gender differences in the validity of drug use reporting among juvenile arrestees, using a gender-matched sample (n = 6,377) drawn from the Drug Use Forecasting Program,(1) 1992-1996. Self-repo rted marijuana and crack and/or cocaine use was compared to urinalysis resu lts to test gender differences in the accuracy of disclosure. Among urine p ositives, girls were more willing than boys to disclose past month and life time marijuana use. Gender was not a significant main effect for cocaine us e reporting but interacted with race/ethnicity and family structure in pred icting valid disclosure. Hispanic girls were significantly more likely than Hispanic boys to underreport recent cocaine use. Among arrestees from home s with one or no parents, girls were significantly more likely than boys to disclose recent cocaine use.