An Analysis of the Influence of Sampling Methods on Estimation of Drug Use Prevalence and Patterns Among Arrestees in the United States: Implications for Research and Policy

• Main Author: Kremling, Janine
• Format: Others
• Published: Scholar Commons 2010
• Subjects: Equivalence Testing; Sampling; Methodology; Drug Use Estimates; Comparative Analysis; American Studies; Arts and Humanities; Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Online Access: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/3480; http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4675&context=etd

Using data from the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) and the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (ADAM) programs collected by the National Institute of Justice the question whether the drug estimates of DUF, using a non-probability sample, and the drug use estimates of ADAM, using a probability sample, yield substantially different results will be explored. The following main questions will be addressed using equivalence analysis: Are there substantial differences in the DUF and ADAM samples with regard to the drug use information obtained from arrestees at nine sites across the United States? The analysis suggests that the drug use information contained in DUF and ADAM is not substantially different for marijuana, cocaine, and opiates for all sites analyzed together. Additionally, there are no substantial differences for seven of the nine sites. The implications of these findings are discussed.