Validity of self reported data on injury prevention behavior: lessons from observational and self reported surveys of safety belt use in the US.

Abstract

In the aggregate, self reported estimates were only 2% to 5% higher than observed estimates. This is a substantial improvement from previous studies. This is probably due to the increased prevalence of safety belt use and the declining effects of social desirability on self reported use. In general, the validity of self reported estimates of socially desirable injury prevention behaviors will be higher when the actual prevalence of the behavior is higher, but lower when this is not true.