NCJ Number
200878
Journal
Addiction Volume: 98 Issue: 6 Dated: June 2003 Pages: 791-797
Date Published
June 2003
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This study compared the sociodemographic characteristics, drinking behavior, alcohol problems, drug use, and history of intimate partner violence of non-respondents and respondents.
Abstract
Social research is often dependant upon the responses received from respondents. Not everyone responds to surveys; approximately 70 percent of surveys on alcohol and drug use in the United States are completed and returned. It is important, especially from a treatment perspective and a public policy perspective, to ascertain the similarities and differences between those who respond to drug and alcohol surveys and those who do not respond. The authors compared the survey data obtained in 1995 from 1,635 couples aged 18 or older (an 85 percent response rate) to the data obtained from re-interviewing 1,392 of the 1,635 respondents in 2000 (a 72 percent response rate). Interviews focused on sociodemographic variables, drinking patterns, drug use, intimate partner violence, and childhood exposure to parental violence and child abuse. Findings of statistical analyses indicated that the male non-respondents to drug and alcohol surveys tended to be young, lacking a high school degree, unemployed, and alcohol drinkers. The female non-respondents were more often between the ages of 40 and 49. Gender-specific regression models accounted for 5 percent of the variance, suggesting that gender alone cannot account for non-respondents. Furthermore, the authors note that the low proportion of variance indicates that the key variables examined (sociodemographic variables, drinking-related variables, and violence-related variables) may not be the main factors affecting survey participation. Tables, references