Speakers
Abstract
Background: Theoretical accounts of careless responding name environmental distractions as a key contributing factor. In experience sampling method (ESM) studies, participants receive questionnaires across a range of potentially distracting situations. Previous research suggests that participants find ESM questionnaires particularly disturbing in social situations, especially when engaging in social interactions. Social situations also represent highly distracting environments. Yet, the effects of these environmental distractions on response behavior remain poorly understood.
Methods: We investigated the effects of responding to questionnaires in distracting environments by comparing disturbance and response behavior across various social and non-social situations. Data from three young adult samples (combined N = 293) and a general population youth sample (N = 1903) was analyzed with multilevel (logistic) regressions.
Results: In line with previous research, adults were significantly more disturbed by assessments when in company compared to when alone, especially when also interacting with their company. In addition, we found small but significant differences in response behavior between social settings in adults, with changes pointing towards lower data quality when participants are in company. Interestingly, patterns were different, in some cases even reversed, in school-going adolescents.
Conclusions: While our findings suggest that the distraction of social settings affects participant burden and response behavior, the influence on data quality was minor. Differences across samples suggest that the setting of the social experience (in vs outside school) needs to be considered. Preparing participants for sampling in distracting (social) environments may help safeguard data quality and reduce participant burden.
| Oral presentation | The distracted participant? Experience sampling response behavior and participant burden in social settings |
|---|---|
| Author | Gudrun Vera Eisele |
| Affiliation | KU Leuven |
| Keywords | Ambulatory Assessment, Ecological Momentary Assessment |
