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Sampling gay men: Random Digit Dialing versus sources in the Gay Community
1Division of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA. im15@columbia.edu
Objectives:
To assess the feasibility of obtaining a probability sample of gay/bisexual men using Random Digit Dialing (RDD), assess its validity, and describe differences between such a sample and a sample recruited from sources in the gay community.
Methods:
Two samples, one of men participating in an event at the Gay Community Center (N = 26) and one of randomly selected men (N = 52), were recruited by telephone in targeted New York City neighborhoods. A five-minute questionnaire for identifying gay/bisexual men was administered. Respondents who identified themselves as gay/bisexual were also asked about their gay identity and level of affiliation with the gay community.
Results:
The screen questionnaire had excellent sensitivity (.96) in identifying gay/bisexual men. RDD sampling identified a high percent of gay/bisexual-identified men (29%). Gay/bisexual men identified through the RDD technique were qualitatively different from gay/bisexual men contacted through the gay community: they were less affiliated with the gay community, had higher levels of internalized homophobia, and differed in the attitudes they endorsed.
Conclusions:
To reduce bias imported by sampling highly affiliated respondents, RDD sampling techniques should, and can, be used in studies of gay/bisexual men.