In such research, several measurement issues require attention. First, longitudinal studies often rely solely on youth self-reports of behavioral deviance which likely underestimate important aspects of behavioral disinhibition. This bias may be most problematic for the very youth at highest risk for alcoholism and for measurement of traits that require subjective judgment. It is well-documented that behaviorally disinhibited youth characteristically lack insight (e.g. Barkley et al., 2002; Hoza et al., 2002). Thus, parent and teacher ratings of child behavior are preferred in clinic-based studies of children with behavior problems.
