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Reliability of Arrest and Incarceration Questions on the Risk Behavior Assessment

dfisher{at}csulb.edu

Grace L. Reynolds

Michele M. Wood

Center for Behavioral Research and Services, California State University, Long Beach

Mark E. Johnson

Department of Psychology, University of Alaska Anchorage

We examined 48-hour test-retest reliability of the arrest and incarceration questions on the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA; National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1993). Participants were 229 street-drug users recruited in 11 cities throughout the United States. Results revealed that lifetime arrest and incarceration items demonstrated good to excellent reliability. The 30-day arrest and incarceration items provided such poor reliabilities that they would yield unreliable data with limited research or clinical use. Future research needs to identify alternative items that can yield reliable data regarding recent arrest history; until then, it is recommended that the recent arrest items be used with caution.

Key Words: reliability • Risk Behavior Assessment • measurement • self-report • questionnaire

Crime & Delinquency, Vol. 50, No. 1, 24-31 (2004)
DOI: 10.1177/0011128703258872


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