A test-retest reliability assessment of the international self-report delinquency instrument

✍ Scribed by Sheldon Zhang; Theodore Benson; Xiaogang Deng

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 69 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0047-2352
• DOI: 10.1016/s0047-2352(00)00045-3

✦ Synopsis

This article reports the findings from a self-administered test-retest study of the International Self-Report Delinquency (ISRD) instrument, which was developed by criminologists from fifteen Western countries a decade ago and has been widely used since. Despite its popularity, a recent Dutch study challenged its over-time reliability. This study found that the instrument, when self-administered among college students in Boston and San Diego ( N ϭ 147), produced consistent results. The consistency between Time One and Time Two in response to the prevalence question (i.e., "Have you ever . . . ?") in all recorded offenses ranged from a high of 100 percent to a low of 85 percent. The observed variations (i.e., a yes answer at Time One and no at Time Two, or vice-versa) in most cases were found to be insignificant. Alcohol and drug questions had the highest reliability over time. Limitations and implications of the findings and suggestions for future research were discussed.