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European Journal of Epidemiology (2005) 20: 173181 Springer 2005PSYCHIATRIC EPIDEMIOLOGYEvaluation of non-response bias in mental health determinants and outcomes
in a large sample of pre-adolescentsAndrea F. de Winter1, Albertine J. Oldehinkel1,2,3,Rene Veenstra4,5, J. Agnes Brunnekreef1,3,
Frank C. Verhulst2 &Johan Ormel1,31Department of Psychiatry and Graduate School of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurosciences, University of Groningen;2Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam; 3Graduate School for ExperimentalPsychopathology;4Department of Sociology, University of Groningen; 5Interuniversity Center for Social Science Theory andMethodology, The NetherlandsAccepted in revised form 14 October 2004contribute to the prevention or reduction of nonresponse bias. Thanks to various recruitment procedures, the initial response rate of 66% increased to a
nal rate of 76%. The extended eorts to recruit
participants prevented non-response bias in the
prevalence rates of psychopathology. Although nonresponders diered from responders with respect to
several individual characteristics, no signicant differences were found regarding associations between
these characteristics and psychopathology. We conclude that TRAILS provides a solid basis to improve
our understanding of the development of mental
health during adolescence.Key words: Adolescent behavior, Cohort studies, Longitudinal studies, Mental health, Prospective studies,
Selection biasAbbreviations: CI condence interval; GLM generalized linear model; OR odds Ratio;
TRAILS tracking adolescents individual lives surveyAbstract. Since non-response may jeopardize the
validity of studies, comprehensive assessment of nonresponse is a prerequisite for proper interpretation of
study ndings. Recently, the baseline assessment of
the TRacking Adolescents Individual Lives Survey
(TRAILS), a prospective cohort study among Dutch
pre-adolescents, was completed. The aim of this report is to examine non-response bias by comparing
responders and non-responders regarding mental
health determinants (e.g., demographics and cognitive performance) and outcomes, as well as associations between the two. Furthermore, we examine
whether extended eorts to recruit participantsIntroductionThe importance of longitudinal population-based
studies for understanding the etiology of mental
health problems is broadly acknowledged. However,
many factors threaten the validity of such studies,
amongst others non-response and attrition. Most
studies, but not all [1], have found that, compared
to responders, non-responders have less favorable
relations with peers [24], a lower socioeconomic
status [5], a less favorable lifestyle [6], dierent
psychological characteristics [6] and higher levels of
psychopathology [4, 7]. To reduce non-response,
various recruitment eorts, including special interview training, reminder letters, phone calls, home
visits and incentives, have been developed...