Validity of self-reports and reliability of spousal proxy reports on the smoking behavior of Chinese parents with young children

This study aims to examine the validity of self-reports and reliability of spousal proxy reports of smoking behavior among Chinese parents with young children. Agreement of self-reported smoking status with expired CO concentration among parents in the intake interview was significant with kappa at 0.70. Agreement of the mothers' and fathers' proxy reports on their spouses' smoking status and cigarette consumption by ICC were 1.0 and 0.58, and 0.82 and 0.33, respectively. Self-report and proxy reports of smoking status are considered valid and reliable to assess smoking behavior of parents with young children in Hong Kong.