A methodological comparison of survey techniques in obtaining self-reports of condom-related behaviors.

ABSTRACT

PIP: 352 students at a large American northeastern state university were randomly selected from intact college classes to rank 15 sensitive condom-related items. 257 students actually participated. 53% of the 257 students were women; 55% were non-health-related majors (education, policy, communications) and 45% were health-related majors (health education, health policy, nursing, family studies, and physical education). The subjects in the original sample were randomly assigned to distinct treatment groups: Group 1 (n = 76) self-administered direct inquiry, Group 2 (n = 76) self-administered randomized response, Group 3 (n = 100) face-to-face interview direct inquiry, and Group 4 (n = 100) face-to-face interview randomized response. Subjects in each group completed 15 items on a questionnaire concerning their condom-related practices. Perceived item sensitivity was assessed by a follow-up survey of 60 randomly selected subjects from the original sample. The subjects rated the sensitivity of each item on a 5-point scale anchored by extremely sensitive (5) through neutral (3) to extremely innocuous (1). 60% of the 15 survey items were given below average ratings with respect to sensitivity. Only 40% of the items received a mean rating above 3 (range = 2.7-3.8). The mean behavior score in the randomized response group (M = 4.1, standard deviation [SD] = 2.8) was significantly lower than the mean behavior for the two direct inquiry groups (M = 5.6, SD = 1.8, p or= .05). Subjects in the direct inquiry groups reported engaging in unprotected or socially stigmatized sexual behaviors more frequently than did subjects in the randomized response group. The controlled choice randomized response technique may be less effective than the conventional direct inquiry technique in obtaining self-reports of condom-related behaviors among college students. The direct inquiry methods are more suitable for populations such as college students who may not be threatened by sensitive survey inquiry.