Abstract
Technological development has enabled the use of sophisticated methods for assessing multiple human behaviors. Despite the advantages of these new technologies, concerns exist regarding their equivalence with paper-based measures in epidemiological and health-related surveys. To date, literature on this topic in relation to adolescents is virtually nonexistent. This study compares respondents’ performance on the same survey using both paper- and electronic tablet-based assessment methods. A final sample of 135 adolescents (mean age 17.30 years, SD = 0.59; 56.3% males) consecutively completed two versions of the same survey on gambling behaviors and two questionnaires: The Gambling Motives Questionnaire (GMQ) and the South Oaks Gambling Screening-Revised for Adolescents (SOGS-RA). An ad-hoc questionnaire assessing participants’ satisfaction levels with each method was also used. The digital survey yielded a lifetime, past year, and past month gambling prevalence of 54.1%, 45.2%, and 27.4%, respectively. Paper-based prevalence rates were 3.7-5.2% lower (all p < .092) and there were discrepancies in gambling activities. Although the reliability of the questionnaires was high in both formats, total scores were consistently higher in the paper-based format. GMQ and SOGS-RA intraclass correlations between versions ranged from .856-.884. Unexpectedly, students preferred the paper-based survey to the e-assessment (51.5% vs. 48.5%) and also enjoyed it more (31.3% vs 26.1%). Paper- and tablet-based surveys yield different, albeit non-statistically significant, estimations of gambling behaviors even when the same participants were surveyed at one time. We recommend that consistency be routinely checked across assessment formats when adapting paper-and-pencil measures to digital formats
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