Accessing Adolescents

Abstract

This article describes a protocol that was effective in collecting media-use pattern and sensitive health data from young adolescents. Students from three public school districts in the southeastern United States were recruited to participate in a study of the impact of the media on adolescents’ sexual health. Using a 34-page mailed survey, extensive media-use pattern data were gathered from 3,261 7th and 8th graders (a 65% response rate) after students were recruited in schools and parents mailed back consent forms. The media sample included responses from a large number of Black teens and males, sub-groups that have been understudied in media research. A subsample of students who completed the media questionnaire was then recruited to participate in a 45-minute audio computer-assisted self-interview in-home health and sexuality interview. A random sample of 1,074 adolescents (a 90% response rate), stratified into equal Black and White male and female strata, completed the health survey. Both the media and the health samples were representative of the entire school population from which the samples were drawn. Strategies that were effective in recruiting respondents are discussed.