International ArticlesSilent Dropouts in Health Surveys:: Are Nonrespondent Absent Teenagers Different From Those Who Participate in School-Based Health Surveys?
Section snippets
The Sample
The Swiss Multicenter Adolescent Survey on Health (SMASH) is a nationwide survey that addressed the health and lifestyles of in-school teenagers aged 15–20 years. It was conducted during 1992 and 1993 7, 15, 16. A total of 9268 young people enrolled in the first to fourth grade of postmandatory school in Switzerland answered an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. One-step cluster sampling procedure was used, including all public secondary schools, technical schools, and schools for
Results
In the French-speaking sample which had been originally randomly selected (N = 3694), 188 pupils (5%) were absent on the day the questionnaires were completed. Taking into account refusals to participate (n = 2; 0.02%), exclusion of older subjects (4%; > 20 years old) and nonusable questionnaires (1.5%), the present pupils sample was finally composed of 3324 individuals. Half of the schools, both professional centers and high schools, refused to give the students’ addresses, which precluded
Discussion
Upon planning this study, we expected to find, among the students who were absent on the day the questionnaires were distributed, a higher rate of health problems. The findings gave another, interesting answer in that absent teenagers actually reported fewer health problems and needs than participants, in the somatic as well as in the psychosocial areas. Thus, they did not seem to suffer from chronic health problems and they reported fewer hospitalizations and accidents. However, absent
Acknowledgements
This study was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, Los Angeles, March 1994. This research was supported by a grant from the Federal Office for Public Health of Switzerland, Contract No. 316.92.5321.
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