Using Daily Reports to Measure Drinking and Drinking Patterns

Daily measurements of drinking are used to measure alcohol consumption, validate retrospective questionnaires, and examine associations between drinking and other behaviors. The advantages of using daily reports include reducing retrospective biases and forgetting of drinking occasions; disadvantages include increased costs and potential for reactivity. Methodological issues to consider in using daily reports include reporting method (written, telephone, electronic), reporting interval, data collection period, respondent attrition, and missing data. Compared to retrospective reports, daily reports result in more reported drinking occasions but similar average quantity consumed, and correlations between retrospective and daily measures are generally high. The utility of daily reports depends on the research question and the purpose of the measurements.