Abstract
BackgroundWeb-based survey research has several benefits, including low cost and burden, as well as high use of the Internet, particularly among young adults. In the context of longitudinal studies, attrition raises concerns regarding the validity of data, given the potential associations with individual and institutional characteristics, or the focal area of study (eg, cigarette use).ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to compare baseline characteristics of nonresponders versus responders in a sample of young adult college students in a Web-based longitudinal study regarding tobacco use.MethodsWe conducted a secondary data analysis of 3189 college students from seven Georgia colleges and universities in a 2-year longitudinal study. We examined baseline tobacco use, as well as individual- and institutional-level factors, as predictors of attrition between wave 1 (October and November 2014) and wave 2 (February and March 2015) using multilevel modeling. Results: A total 13.14% (419/3189) participants were lost to follow-up at wave 2. Predictors of nonresponse were similar in the models examining individual-level factors and institutional-level factors only and included being black versus white (odds ratio [OR] 1.74, CI 1.23-2.46); being male versus female (OR 1.41, CI 1.10-1.79); seeking a bachelor’s degree versus advanced degree (OR 1.41, CI 1.09-1.83); not residing on campus (OR 0.62, CI 0.46-0.84); past 30-day tobacco use (OR 1.41, CI 1.10-1.78); attending a nonprivate college (OR 0.48, CI 0.33-0.71); and attending a college with ≤10,000 students (OR 0.56, CI 0.43-0.73).ConclusionsFuture longitudinal studies should assess predictors of attrition to examine how survey topic and other individual and institutional factors might influence the response to allow for correction of selection bias.
Highlights
Rapid development of new information technology tools has revolutionized survey implementation
Previous literature showed that dropping out was related to a few key factors relevant to this study, including survey topic salience [13,17,18,19,20], behaviors related to the survey topic [13,17,18,19,20], participant sociodemographics [9,17,21,22,23,24,25], and institutional factors [24,25,26]
This finding is consistent with survey attrition research conducted with young adults in the general population [18] the subject matter of these studies was not primarily concerned with tobacco use, or they studied unique populations such as young adult military personnel
Summary
Rapid development of new information technology tools has revolutionized survey implementation. In parallel with this innovation, researchers have noticed a universal and consistent decline in survey participation. The inability to recruit and retain study participants within longitudinal studies poses potential threats to the validity of population-based studies when the participation itself is related to survey or other unobserved variables [3,4,5]. Investigations of the potential threats to validity (ie, biases) due to nonparticipation are often insufficiently explored, in studies of substance use by young adults [6,7,8,9]. Web-based survey research has several benefits, including low cost and burden, as well as high use of the Internet, among young adults. In the context of longitudinal studies, attrition raises concerns regarding the validity of data, given the potential associations with individual and institutional characteristics, or the focal area of study (eg, cigarette use)
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