Personality Comparisons of Responders and Nonresponders to a Mailed Personality Inventory

Abstract

Response and nonresponse bias is a concern of researchers who employ mail survey questionnaires. This study compared personality characteristics of responders and nonresponders to a mailed personality inventory. The Comrey Personality Scales were initially administered to two first-year dental school classes. In a readministration after graduation, the inventory was mailed to all initial participants. Differences between responders and nonresponders were examined for 10 scales. Responders tended to score higher than nonresponders on the Trust versus Defensiveness and Social Conformity versus Rebelliousness scales. This study lends only weak support for the notion that responders to mail surveys have different personality profiles than nonresponders.