The current investigation examined the accuracy of diabetic children's 24-hr recall data by comparing the 7- to 12-year-old children's reports to direct observations of their behavior. Observers ' data evidenced sufficient reliabil-ity to serve as an acceptable standard to which the children's 24-hr recall data could be compared. The children exhibited excellent agreement with the ob-servers'data on all measures of the occurrence/nonoccurrence of events, in-cluding insulin injections, exercise periods, glucose tests, meal, type and amount of insulin injected. Although somewhat poorer reporters on some behaviors, differences were small. Children underreported most dietary be-haviors and some exercise behaviors. KEY WORDS: diabetes; adherence; assessment; children's report. Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is one of the most common en-docrine disorders of childhood, affecting over 120,000 U.S. children (LaPorte & Tajima, 1985). Management of the disease places complex daily demands upon the patient and family. Daily insulin injections are necessary for sur-vival. Frequent, small meals should be consumed and foods high in concen-trated sweets and fat should be avoided. Exercise improves insulin utilization •Supported by grants RO1 HD 13820 and KO4 HD 00686 awarded to the second author by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. This manuscript is based
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Reynolds et al. (1990) studied this question.