Citation

Høyer G, Nilssen O, Brenn T, Schirmer H. Addiction 1995; 90(4): 539-544.

Affiliation

Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø, Norway.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1995, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

7773116

Abstract

The Norwegian island of Spitzbergen, Svalbard offers a unique setting for validation studies on self-reported alcohol consumption. No counterfeit production or illegal import exists, thus making complete registration of all sources of alcohol possible. In this study we recorded sales from all agencies selling alcohol on Svalbard over a 2-month period in 1988. During the same period all adults living permanently on Svalbard were invited to take part in a health screening. As part of the screening a self-administered questionnaire on alcohol consumption was introduced to the participants. We found that the self-reported volume accounted for approximately 40 percent of the sales volume. Because of the unique situation applying to Svalbard, the estimate made in this study is believed to be more reliable compared to other studies using sales volume to validate self-reports.

Language: en