Potential Selective Responding in a Parent Questionnaire Study of Post-Institutionalized Children

Area of Science:

• Child Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Selective responding bias is under-researched but critical in post-institutionalized children studies.
• Low response rates in mailed questionnaires can skew study findings.
• Understanding bias is crucial for accurate assessment of this population.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of selective responding bias in single-wave and multi-wave data collection.
• To compare adjustment ratings between responders and non-responders in post-institutionalized children.
• To identify potential under-representation of adjustment difficulties in longitudinal studies.

Main Methods:

• 121 parents of post-institutionalized children from a four-wave study were contacted via telephone.
• Participants were categorized as Never Responders, Previous Responders, or Wave 4 Responders.
• Parental ratings of child's family, school, peer, and behavioral adjustment were collected.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in adjustment ratings were found for single-wave data collection.
• Parents who never responded reported significantly poorer family and peer adjustment.
• Selective responding bias did not significantly affect single-wave data but may bias multi-wave findings.

Conclusions:

• Selective responding bias does not appear to significantly impact single-wave data collection.
• Multi-wave studies on post-institutionalized children may under-represent adjustment challenges, particularly in family and peer relations.
• Future research should consider methods to mitigate selective responding bias in longitudinal studies.