Self-reported official trouble and official arrest: Validating a piece of the core alcohol and drug survey

In the past decade, universities and colleges across the USA have attempted to develop a profile of college student drinkers in order to develop programs and policies for combating high-risk drinking. Most of these studies have relied on the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey in which students self-report drinking and behaviors associated with drinking. While the Core survey has undergone multiple validity checks, few researchers have employed official data to validate items in the survey, particularly self-reported official trouble. The present study employed municipal alcohol-related arrest reports to determine whether the correlates of arrest resembled correlates associated with self-reported official trouble from drinking. Overall, group membership patterns from the self-report item resembled the patterns of alcohol-related arrest. Further tests using internal Core survey criteria revealed additional validity support for the self-reported official trouble item.