Comparison of a web-push vs. mailed survey protocol in the Monitoring the Future panel study among adults ages 35 to 60.

Introduction: Updating the mode of data collection may affect response rates or survey results. The ongoing, national Monitoring the Future (MTF) panel study has traditionally used mailed paper surveys. In 2018, MTF experimented with a web-push data collection design for young adults ages 19-30, concluding that the web-push design improved response rates and did not change substance use estimates after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics (Patrick et al., 2021). The current study sought to replicate the web-push experiment with MTF adults ages 35 to 60 in 2020. Methods: In 2020, the MTF panel study included an experiment to test a web-push protocol for respondents ages 35 to 60 (N = 14,379). Participants were randomized to the web-push (i.e., a web survey invitation, with paper surveys available for non-respondents) or traditional MTF (i.e., mailed paper surveys) data collection condition. Results: Results indicated no significant difference in overall response rate for the web-push vs. standard MTF conditions in this age group. Differences in reported estimates of past 30-day substance use prevalence by condition were not significant after adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. In multivariable models, participants in the web-push condition were less likely to respond via web (than paper) if they were Black, smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days, were unmarried, or did not have a college degree. Conclusions: Overall, the move to the web-push design had minimal impact on response rates and substance use prevalence estimates for this age group. However, in the web-push condition, sociodemographic differences were associated with mode of response.

Building on a Sequential Mixed-Mode Research Design in the Monitoring the Future Study.

Given the promise of the web push plus e-mail survey design for providing cost-effective and high-quality data (Patrick et al. 2018, 2019) as an alternative to a paper-and-pencil mailed survey design for the longitudinal Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, the current study sought to further enhance the web push condition. The MTF sample is based on US nationally representative samples of 12th grade students surveyed annually. The MTF control group for the current study included participants who completed the in-school baseline survey in the 12th grade and were selected to participate in their first follow-up survey in 2017 via mailed surveys (N = 1,222). A supplementary sample (N = ∼2,450) was assigned to one of the two sequential mixed-mode conditions. Those in condition 1 (N = 1,198), or mail push, were invited to complete mailed surveys and later given a web survey option. Those in condition 2 (N = 1,173), or enhanced web push, were invited to complete a web survey (the same as in the 2014 study, but with the addition of text messages and quick response (QR) codes and the web survey was optimized for mobile devices) and then later given a mailed survey option. Research aims were to examine response rates across conditions, as well as how responses were distributed across mode (paper, web), devices (computer, smartphone, table), and method of accessing the web survey (hand-entered URL, QR code, e-mail link, SMS link). Response rates differed significantly: the MTF control group was 34.2 percent, mail push was 35.4 percent, and enhanced web push was 42.05 percent. The higher response rate in the enhanced web push condition suggests that the additional strategies were effective at bringing in more respondents. Key estimates produced by the enhanced web push condition did not differ from those of the MTF control group.

Comparison of a web-push survey research protocol with a mailed paper and pencil protocol in the Monitoring the Future panel survey.

AIMS: The experiment tested the effects of a web-push survey research protocol, compared with the standard mailed paper-and-pencil protocol, among young adults aged 19-30 years in the 'Monitoring the Future' (MTF) longitudinal study. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: The US-based MTF study has measured substance use trends among young adults in panel samples followed biennially, using consistent mailed survey procedures from 1977 to 2017. In 2018, young adult participants in the MTF longitudinal component scheduled to be surveyed at ages 19-30 in 2018 (from high school senior cohorts of 2006-17, n = 14 709) were randomly assigned to receive the standard mail/paper survey procedures or new web-push procedures. MEASUREMENTS: Primary outcomes were responding to the survey and prevalence estimates for past 30-day use of alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana and illicit drugs. FINDINGS: The web-push response rate was 39.07% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 37.889, 40.258]; this was significantly better than the standard MTF response rate of 35.12% (95% CI = 33.964, 36.285). After adjusting for covariates, the web-push condition was associated with a 19% increase in the odds of responding compared with standard MTF (adjusted odds ratio = 1.188; 95% CI = 1.096, 1.287). Substance use prevalence estimates were very similar and differences became negligible when using attrition weights and controlling for socio-demographic characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: The web-push protocol produced a higher response rate than the mailed pencil and paper protocol in the Monitoring the Future panel study, without substantially affecting estimates of substance use once attrition weights and socio-demographic variables were factored in.

Two-Year Follow-up of a Sequential Mixed-Mode Experiment in the U.S. National Monitoring the Future Study.

This study examines the two-year follow up (data collected in 2016 at modal age 21/22) of an original mixed-mode longitudinal survey experiment (data collected at modal age 19/20 in 2014). The study compares participant retention in the experimental conditions to retention in the standard Monitoring the Future (MTF) control condition (participants who completed an in-school baseline survey in 12th grade in 2012 or 2013 and were selected to participate in the first follow-up survey by mail in 2014, N=2,451). A supplementary sample who completed the 12th grade baseline survey in 2012 or 2013 but were not selected to participate in the main MTF follow-up (N=4,950) were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: 1: Mail Push, 2: Web Push, 3: Web Push + Email in 2014 and again in 2016. Results from the first experiment indicated that Condition 3 (Web Push + Email) was promising based on similar response rates and lower costs (Patrick et al. 2018). The current study examines how experimental condition and type of 2014 response were associated with response in 2016, the extent to which response mode and device type changed from 2014 to 2016, and cumulative cost comparisons across conditions. Results indicated that responding via web in 2014 was associated with greater odds of participation again in 2016 regardless of condition; respondents tended to respond in the same mode although the "push" condition did move respondents toward web over paper; device type varied between waves; and the cumulative cost savings of Web Push + Email grew larger compared to the MTF Control. The web push strategy is therefore promising for maintaining respondent engagement while reducing cost.

A Sequential Mixed-Mode Experiment in the U.S. National Monitoring the Future Study.

The national Monitoring the Future (MTF) study examines substance use among adolescents and adults in the United States and has used paper questionnaires since it began in 1975. The current experiment tested three conditions as compared to the standard MTF follow-up protocol (i.e., MTF Control) for the first MTF follow-up survey at ages 19/20 years (i.e., one or two years after high school graduation). The MTF Control group included participants who completed in-school baseline surveys in the 12th grade in 2012-2013 and who were selected to participate in the first follow-up survey in 2014 (n = 2,451). A supplementary sample of participants who completed the 12th grade baseline survey in 2012 or 2013 but were not selected to participate in the main MTF follow-up (n = 4,950) were recruited and randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: (1) Mail Push, (2) Web Push, (3) Web Push + E-mail. Results indicated that the overall response rate was lower in Condition 2 compared to MTF Control and to Condition 1; there were no differences between Condition 3 and other conditions. Web response was highest in Condition 3; among web responders, smartphone response was also highest in Condition 3. Subgroup differences also emerged such that, for example, compared to white participants, Hispanics had greater odds of web (versus paper) response and blacks had greater odds of smartphone (versus computer or tablet) response. Item nonresponse was lowest in the Web Push conditions (compared to MTF Control) and on the web survey (compared to paper). Compared to MTF Control, Condition 3 respondents reported higher rates of alcohol use in the past 30 days. The total cost was lowest for Condition 3. Overall, the Condition 3 Web Push + E-mail design is promising. Future research is needed to continue to examine the implications of web and mobile response in large, national surveys.

Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use prevention programs in U.S. schools: a descriptive summary.

This report identifies the prevalence of state, local, and commercially developed substance abuse prevention programs in middle and high schools from 2001 to 2007, using survey data from nationally representative samples of 1,206 schools. Based on school administrators' reports, schools and school districts offer students an average of 1.62 prevention programs during their school years from elementary through high school. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were conducted with school demographic characteristics public versus private, size, population density, region of the country, school race/ethnic composition, and socioeconomic status of the student body (SES) as predictors of total number of programs that students received and of the relative use of local, state, and commercial programs. Schools in the West had significantly fewer prevention programs than those in other regions of the country. Students in predominantly White and in higher SES schools received significantly more prevention programs than students in majority African American, majority Hispanic, or in lower SES affluent schools. The most frequently reported programs that students received were locally developed. D.A.R.E. was the most widely adopted prevention program. Findings from this study suggest that schools often develop their own curriculum to suit their students' needs, and students are exposed to multiple prevention programs through their school years, making it difficult to examine the effectiveness of any single program in preventing and reducing substance use among students.

Trajectories of Marijuana Use During the Transition to Adulthood: The Big Picture Based on National Panel Data.

The purposes of this study were to: a) identify trajectory groups of frequent marijuana use during emerging adulthood, b) distinguish among trajectory groups according to demographic and lifestyle characteristics, and c) examine how the trajectory groups relate to behavioral, attitudinal, and social-emotional correlates over time. National panel data from the Monitoring the Future study were used: 18 cohorts of high school seniors (classes of 1977-94) were followed biennially through age 24. Frequent marijuana use was defined as 3+ occasions of use in past month and/or 20 to 40+ occasions in past year. Based on four waves of complete longitudinal data (N=19,952), six frequent marijuana use trajectory groups were identified: chronic, decreased, increased, fling, rare, and abstain. Categorical analyses revealed trajectory group differences in demographic and lifestyle characteristics at senior year and age 24. The trajectory groups varied significantly in longitudinal patterns of other substance use, problem behaviors, and well-being.