International Journal of Epidemiology, Vol 26, 315-320, Copyright © 1997 by International Epidemiological Association
KT Passaro, J Noss, DA Savitz and RE Little
BACKGROUND: We examined agreement between self and proxy reports of
paternal drinking and smoking behaviour using data collected as part of the
prospective, population-based Avon (England) Longitudinal Study of
Pregnancy and Childhood. METHODS: Information on the smoking and drinking
habits of pregnant women's male partners was obtained through
self-administered questionnaires completed by pregnant participants and by
their partners. For dichotomous indicators (e.g. smoker versus non-
smoker), we evaluated self/proxy agreement by calculating Kappa
coefficients and per cent agreement. For ordinal measures of smoking and
drinking amounts, we calculated per cent perfect agreement, per cent
agreement within one category, and Spearman correlation coefficients. Data
from 8414 respondent pairs were included in the analyses. RESULTS: Men's
and women's reports of paternal smoking and drinking status were in nearly
complete agreement (95% and 98%, respectively). For analyses of smoking and
drinking amounts, agreement within one category remained high (90% and 98%
for smoking and drinking, respectively), but perfect agreement on amount
was somewhat lower (81% and 71%, respectively). Per cent perfect agreement
on smoking amount was especially low (50%) when non-smokers were excluded.
When couples' reports were not in perfect agreement, women tended to report
lower amounts of smoking and drinking for their partners compared to the
men's self reports. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that women's proxy
reports of their partners' drinking and smoking status can be used with
considerable confidence in reproductive epidemiological studies when the
enrollment of both women and men as participants is infeasible for
financial or logistical reasons. Caution is warranted, however, when proxy
reports are used for more detailed information on smoking and drinking
amounts.
ARTICLES
Agreement between self and partner reports of paternal drinking and smoking. The ALSPAC Study Team. Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
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