THE IMPACT OF QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTRATION MODE ON RESPONSE RATE AND REPORTING OF CONSENSUAL AND NONCONSENSUAL SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Computer-administered self-interviewing (CASI) has been advocated as a way of overcoming underreporting of sensi-tive sexual behaviors. The present study compared reports of consensual and nonconsensual sexual behaviors (including childhood and adulthood sexual victimization) among women using CASI (n = 1014) versus a self-administered ques-tionnaire (SAQ; n = 318). Women, ages 18–30 years old, were recruited through random-digit dialing in the community. Response rates were significantly higher for the SAQ, which was sent and returned by mail (87.6 % of those eligible), than for the CASI, which involved in-person assessment at a central location (61.4%). There were a few modest dif-ferences in reports of consensual or nonconsensual sexual behavior according to mode of administration, suggesting greater willingness to report sexual experiences among the SAQ sample. Mailed SAQ following telephone contact and with financial incentive may be a cost-effective way of obtaining data on sexual behavior from a community sample. The study of sexual behavior, both consensual and noncon-sensual, requires reliance on self-reports of behavior. Ensur-ing accurate and unbiased measurement of sexual behavior is particularly challenging given the private and sensitive nature of this domain and a tendency for most adults to underreport sexual behavior (Catania, Gibson, Chitwood