INTERVIEW MODE EFFECTS IN SURVEYS OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL USE: A FIELD EXPERIMENT

This research explores the impact of interview mode on respondents'willingness to reveal illicit or undesirable behavior and mechanismsby which interview mode influences response tendencies. A fieldexperiment was designed to control mode effects due to samplingand screening so that the impact of response anonymity (throughuse of self-administered questionnaires ([SAQs]) and socialdistance in the interviewer-respondent relationship (telephonevs. personal communication) could be tested. Respondents aged18–45 were randomly as-signed to interview mode: telephone,face-to-face, or self-administered. Admission of illicit druguse and alcohol use was most likely in the personal mode withSAQs, slightly less likely in personal mode without SAQs, andleast likely in the telephone mode. The magnitude of the modedifferentials was larger for blacks than for whites, and largeramong respondents who are more mistrustful of others. Resultssupport the notion that response effects due to mode of interviewderive, at least in part, from interview mode differences inability to assuage respondents' confidentiality concerns. Greatersocial distance between interviewer and respondent in the telephoneinterview, compared with face-to-face communication, makes itmore difficult for the researcher to make convincing confidentialityguarantees. The response anonymity provided by SAQs also appearsto increase respondents' willingness to reveal sensitive behavior,especially among racial/ethnic minorities.     

SUBSTANCE USE ESTIMATES FROM RDD AND AREA PROBABILITY SAMPLES: IMPACT OF DIFFERENTIAL SCREENING METHODS AND UNIT NONRESPONSE

Survey mode effects linked to unit nonresponse and screeningprocedures were estimated in a study of self-reported to bacco,alcohol, and illicit drug use. Two samples of the same population were drawn: a random digit dial (RDD) sample with telephonescreening and a multistage area probability sample with in-personscreening. Respondents in both samples were interviewed by telephoneto control mode of communication effects. Households with outtelephones were excluded from both samples to control samplecoverage effects. Although results show substantially lowerresponse rates in the telephone survey due to screening refusals,the two survey procedures produced samples that were very similarin demographic characteristics and in substance use profiles.Differential screening operations and differential nonresponserates between the RDD and area probability designs did not appearto be a major source of mode effects in comparing telephoneand face-to-face surveys of substance use.     

EFFECTS OF INTERVIEW MODE ON SELF-REPORTED DRUG USE

The effects of interview mode on 18- to 34-year-olds' self-reportedtobacco, alcohol, marijuna, and cocaine use were investigated.RDD telephone and personal drug use surveys of the state ofNew Jersey were conducted in 1986–87. In the personalinterview, respondents recorded their drug use on self-administratedanswer sheets. Compared to the area probability sample in thepersonal interview, RDD yielded a sample of blacks higher inincome and education, and more likely to be married and currentlyemployed; white SES was also higher in the telephone sample,but to a lesser degree than for blacks. Controlling for demographiccharacteristics and RDD's exclusion of non-telephone households,the telephone survey yielded significantly lower estimates ofblacks' alcohol consumption, and lifetime and recent marijuanause. Whites' alcohol consumption was slightly lower by telephone;otherwise, estimates of whites' use of the four substances werenearly identical in the two modes. Sample coverage, respondentdemographic characteristics, and racial matching of interviewerand respondent did not account for the significant mode differences.Characteristics of the interview situation itself, such as provisionof privacy in the self-administered format, may have influencedtendencies toward socially desirable responding to a threateningtopic such as drug use.     

EFFECTS OF SPOUSE PRESENCE DURING THE INTERVIEW ON SURVEY RESPONSES CONCERNING MARRIAGE

Data from the 1987–88 National Survey of Families andHouseholds were used to examine the correlates of spouse presenceduring face-to-face interviews and the impact of spouse presenceon responses to sensitive questions concerning marriage. Resultssuggest that variation in interview privacy can be a sourceof response effects in survey data on marriage. When spouseswere present during the interview, subjective assessments ofthe utility of marriage were more positive, higher estimatesof spouse contributions to housework were obtained, and mengave lower estimates of the likelihood of marital dissolution.There was some indication that spouse presence led to a greaterwillingness to report sensitive factual information concerningthe marriage. Respondents were more likely to report cohabitingwith the spouse before marriage if the spouse was present, andself-reported levels of marital conflict were higher. Implicationsof these findings for survey design are discussed.