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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Jan 4.
Published in final edited form as: Addiction. 2011 Jul 22;107(4):694–708. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03473.x

Table 1.

Summary of strengths and limitations of self-report and toxicology approaches to assessing drug-taking behaviour.

Method of assessment Strengths Limitations
Self-report

  • Convenient, inexpensive

  • Usually good validity

  • Can provide temporal and quantitative detail

  • Missing data potentially retrievable at a subsequent visit

  • Uncertain validity

  • Risk of willful or accidental distortion
Toxicologya

  • Objective data

  • Adequate specimen volume

  • On-site and laboratory-based test availability

  • Inconvenience, expense

  • Poor quantity/frequency resolution

  • Utility depends on frequency of sample collection

  • Poor sensitivity to reduced but continued use

  • Missing data permanently lost
a

Each potential substrate for toxicology testing (urine, saliva, hair, breath, sweat, cuticles, etc.) has its own method-specific strengths and weaknesses, which vary depending upon the drug being assessed.