Citation

Cunningham JA, Ansara D, Wild TC, Toneatto T, Koski-Jännes A. J. Stud. Alcohol 1999; 60(6): 756-758.

Affiliation

Addiction Research Foundation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Rutgers Center of Alcohol Studies)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

10606486

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: This article describes results from a study investigating the effects of using long assessment instruments on attrition rates in mailed-out surveys. METHOD: Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of two versions of a mailed-out survey; one version incorporated a detailed assessment of drinking using the Timeline Follow back method (TLFB; n = 46) and the other employed a brief graduated frequency measure of alcohol consumption (n = 49). RESULTS: 29% fewer respondents who received the TLFB returned any of their survey materials as compared to those respondents who received just the graduated frequency measure (22% vs 51%). CONCLUSIONS: In some situations, e.g., mailed-out surveys, employing detailed survey instruments may not be justified as the increased respondent burden may result in increased attrition rates.

Language: en