title: Validity of Self-reported Sexual Behavior Among Adolescents: Where Do We Go from Here?
abstract: Adolescents have high rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Adolescents consuming alcohol and using drugs have markedly greater HIV/STI risk and are a priority population for intervention. Accurate measurement of sexual risk behavior is critical for understanding individual's risk for HIV/STI, transmission dynamics of HIV/STI, and evaluating the efficacy of interventions designed reduce HIV/STI risk. However, significant challenges to accurately measuring adolescents' self-reported sexual behavior are well-documented. Recent advances in microbiology, such as the use of less invasive specimen collection for DNA assays, can assist researchers in more accurately measuring adolescents' sexual risk behavior. However, the majority of studies of adolescents' sexual risk rely solely on self-reported behavior; therefore, methods to improve the validity of adolescents' self-reported sexual behavior are needed. In addition, integrating biologic measures to complement self-reported measures are recommended, when appropriate and feasible.
authors.affiliation: Rollins School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. rdiclem@emory.edu.|Center for AIDS Research, Emory University, Atlanta, USA. rdiclem@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Ralph J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: DiClemente
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012309:Risk-Taking; D057566:Self Report; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescents; Biological markers; HIV/STI; Self-report; Sexual risk behavior