NCJ Number
199444
Editor(s)
Joseph Gfroerer,
Joe Eyerman,
James Chromy
Date Published
2002
Length
227 pages
Annotation
This report provides information on the impact of the redesign on the estimates produced from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) and present research findings of interest to survey methodologists involved in designing and conducting surveys of all types.
Abstract
Conducted since 1971, the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse (NHSDA) is the Federal Government’s primary source of information on the magnitude of substance use and abuse in the United States. The survey collects data by administering questionnaires to a representative sample of persons aged 12 or older at their places of residence. Since 1971, the NHSDA has undergone a variety of changes in its sample design as data priorities have changed. In 1999, a major redesign of the NHSDA was implemented involving both the sample design and the data collection method of the survey. This report discusses several of the most critical issues encountered and describes how the research team that conducts the survey addressed them. The report consists of nine chapters with the first chapter offering an introduction into the background and redesign of the NHSDA. Chapter two describes the new State-based sample design, contrasting it with the national sample employed from 1971 through 1998. It discusses the change in the household screening procedure in 1999, moving from a complex paper screening form to the hand-held Apple Newton computer. It summarizes the development of the new computer-assisted interview (CAI) instrument and explains the differences between the paper-and-pencil interview (PAPI) and CAI instruments. Finally, the chapter discusses the difficulties faced by the NHSDA managers in expanding the field staff in 1999. The remaining chapters discuss specific methodological issues confronted during the implementation of the new NHSDA design that include: (1) summary of NHSDA design changes in 1999; (2) the non-response in the 1999 NHSDA; (3) an assessment of the CAI instrument; (4) the development of editing rules for CAI substance use data; (5) predictive mean neighborhood imputation for NHSDA substance use data; (6) the mode effects on substance use measures, comparing the 1999 CAI and PAPI data; (7) the impact of interviewer experience on respondent reports of substance use; and (8) the changes in NHSDA measures of substance use initiation. Tables