S. Sussman et Aw. Stacy, 5 METHODS OF ASSESSING SCHOOL-LEVEL DAILY USE OF CIGARETTES AND ALCOHOL BY ADOLESCENTS AT CONTINUATION HIGH-SCHOOLS, Evaluation review, 18(6), 1994, pp. 741-755
We explored five methods of estimating school-level daily use of cigar
ettes and alcohol by adolescents at 20 continuation high schools in so
uthern California. We used Campbell and Fiske's criteria to estimate c
onvergent and discriminant validity of a correlation matrix consisting
of two ''traits'' (daily use of cigarettes or alcohol) and five ''met
hods'' (aggregated student self-report, school personnel prevalence es
timate, student prevalence estimate, naturalistic observation of use,
and school refuse evidence). Results showed that the different methods
varied dramatically in convergent and discriminant validity. These fi
ndings, as well as assessment cost considerations, lead us to suggest
that refuse analysis is the most economic proxy measure for estimating
school-level daily student cigarette smoking and other drug use. Repl
ication studies are needed.