An Evaluation of Computer-Assisted Self-Interviews in a School Setting

Draws on an experiment conducted in four education centers for nontraditional & low-performing secondary students in greater Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, in 1996 to determine whether adolescents are more honest about sensitive self-disclosure in computerized or paper-&-pencil self-administrated questionnaires. Subjects (Ss)(N = 368 adolescents, age 12+) answered items about drug use, sexual activity, criminal behavior, self-harm, family substance abuse, domestic violence, & sexual abuse/violence via either computer or paper. Analysis finds that Ss using paper reported more of most behaviors/circumstances than did those on computers. This effect was complicated by a distance effect for computer users: those sitting very close to other students made the fewest reports. It is concluded that the lack of privacy available in most computer laboratories may cause adolescent survey Ss to underreport sensitive information. 2 Tables, 21 References. E. Blackwell