Monitoring youth behavior in response to structural changes. Alternative approaches for measuring adolescent drinking

Random digit dial (RDD) telephone and self-administered school-based surveys of drinking and drinking and driving were compared for adolescents from two Northern California communities. The RDD and school-based surveys resulted in very different samples. The telephone sample contained a greater proportion of European Americans and a smaller proportion of Asian Americans and "other" ethnicities. Respondents to the telephone sample also tended to be older and of higher socioeconomic status (SES). The telephone survey captured very few school dropouts. Moreover, it resulted in lower self-reports of drinking and drinking and driving. Survey mode appeared to influence respondents equally, regardless of their gender, age, ethnicity, or SES.