1. Feasibility and acceptability of text messaging to assess daily substance use and sexual behaviors among urban emerging adults.
- Author
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Bonar, Erin E., Cunningham, Rebecca M., Collins, R. Lorraine, Cranford, James A., Chermack, Stephen T., Zimmerman, Marc A., Blow, Frederic C., and Walton, Maureen A.
- Subjects
SUBSTANCE abuse ,METROPOLITAN areas ,DOCUMENTATION ,EMERGENCY medical services ,HOSPITAL emergency services ,PATIENTS ,RISK-taking behavior ,TEXT messages ,UNSAFE sex ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics - Abstract
Background: Daily process research can help distinguish causal relationships between substance use and sexual risk behaviors in high-risk groups, such as urban emerging adults. We employed text messaging to assess 18-25 year-olds' daily substance use and sexual risk behaviors over 28 days. We describe the implementation of this method, attitudes regarding the daily surveys, and correlates of survey completion. Method: We recruited 111 emerging adults from an urban Emergency Department in a resource-limited area who reported recent drug use and unprotected sex (M
age =22.0; 53.2% female; 45.1% African American; 43.2% receiving public assistance). Results: Respondents completed M=18.0 (SD=8.7) of 28 daily surveys (27 items each). Participants completing a 1-month follow-up found the surveys not at all/only a little annoying (90.3%) and were comfortable with questions about drugs/alcohol (97.9%) and sex (94.6%). Completion was higher on weekdays versus weekends, and earlier in the study. Daily survey completion was unrelated to sameday substance use measured by the Timeline Follow Back at follow-up; polysubstance use and drinks consumed were associated with lower odds of next-day completion. School enrollment, public assistance, unlimited texting plan, lower baseline alcohol use, and depression symptoms at follow-up were associated with higher completion. Technology difficulties were commonly mentioned barriers to completion. Conclusions: Participants in this urban, resource-constrained sample found the daily text message methodology acceptable for reporting sensitive information. With rapid advancements in technologies and increased accessibility, text messaging remains a promising methodology for the study of daily processes in substance use and HIV risk behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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