Rates and Responses of Distressed Women to Phone Survey Screening and Recruitment

Abstract

Telephone interviews were used to assess both the prevalence of psychic distress among women during the past 12 months and the willingness of respondents to participate in a study of how women employ self-change efforts to cope with emotional distress. A second purpose of this research was to demonstrate the general effectiveness of telephone surveys in assessing psychological distress. The major findings indicated that the experience of having been nervous or upset was not uncommon: 64% of the 140 respondents indicated some distress, while 31% had been distressed for more than just a couple of days; also, the majority of distressed women were willing to complete an initial questionnaire (81%), a personal interview (53%), and/or follow-up questionnaires (76%). Respondents who reported greater distress were more willing to participate in the study than were respondents who reported less distress. These findings agree with those of a national household interview survey of psychological distress. Our results suggest that telephone surveys represent an effective alternative method for collecting epidemiological data on the sensitive topic of emotional distress.