TY - JOUR
T1 - Longitudinal reliability of self-reported age at menarche in adolescent girls
T2 - Variability across time and setting
AU - Dorn, Lorah D.
AU - Sontag-Padilla, Lisa M.
AU - Pabst, Stephanie
AU - Tissot, Abbigail
AU - Susman, Elizabeth J.
PY - 2013/6
Y1 - 2013/6
N2 - Age at menarche is critical in research and clinical settings, yet there is a dearth of studies examining its reliability in adolescents. We examined age at menarche during adolescence, specifically, (a) average method reliability across 3 years, (b) test-retest reliability between time points and methods, (c) intraindividual variability of reports, and (d) whether intraindividual variability differed by setting or individual characteristics. Girls (n = 253) were enrolled in a cross-sequential study in age cohorts (11, 13, 15, and 17 years). Age at menarche was assessed using 3 annual, in-person clinician interviews followed by 9 quarterly phone interviews conducted by research assistants. Reliability of age at menarche across time was moderate and varied by method. In-person interviews showed greater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .77) versus phone interviews (ICC = .64). Test-retest reliability in reports did not decrease across time. However, average differences in reported age varied as much as 2.3 years (SD = 2.2 years), with approximately 9% demonstrating differences greater than 4.5 years. Pubertal timing category (i.e., early, late) changed for 22.7% if categorized at the final versus the first report of age at menarche. Reliability was moderate, but average differences in reported age were notable and concerning. Using in-person clinician interviews may enhance reliability. Researchers and clinicians should be cognizant of the implications of using different methods measuring age at menarche when interpreting research findings.
AB - Age at menarche is critical in research and clinical settings, yet there is a dearth of studies examining its reliability in adolescents. We examined age at menarche during adolescence, specifically, (a) average method reliability across 3 years, (b) test-retest reliability between time points and methods, (c) intraindividual variability of reports, and (d) whether intraindividual variability differed by setting or individual characteristics. Girls (n = 253) were enrolled in a cross-sequential study in age cohorts (11, 13, 15, and 17 years). Age at menarche was assessed using 3 annual, in-person clinician interviews followed by 9 quarterly phone interviews conducted by research assistants. Reliability of age at menarche across time was moderate and varied by method. In-person interviews showed greater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = .77) versus phone interviews (ICC = .64). Test-retest reliability in reports did not decrease across time. However, average differences in reported age varied as much as 2.3 years (SD = 2.2 years), with approximately 9% demonstrating differences greater than 4.5 years. Pubertal timing category (i.e., early, late) changed for 22.7% if categorized at the final versus the first report of age at menarche. Reliability was moderate, but average differences in reported age were notable and concerning. Using in-person clinician interviews may enhance reliability. Researchers and clinicians should be cognizant of the implications of using different methods measuring age at menarche when interpreting research findings.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84882698763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84882698763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1037/a0029424
DO - 10.1037/a0029424
M3 - Article
C2 - 22889389
AN - SCOPUS:84882698763
VL - 49
SP - 1187
EP - 1193
JO - Developmental Psychology
JF - Developmental Psychology
SN - 0012-1649
IS - 6
ER -