Longitudinal Cohort Study of Interpersonal Violence Among College-Aged Women and Men: Planning Phase

The extent and consequences of various forms of interpersonal violence (IV) among college-aged persons has been well-documented. To better understand the risks for, experiences with, and consequences of IV among young adults, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has requested proposals to plan a 6-year, longitudinal study of a nationally-representative sample of college-aged individuals, including students attending 4-year residential colleges and universities (schools) and individuals not attending school. During the 24-month planning project, Westat, in partnership with colleagues at University of Cincinnati and New York University, and with input from an Advisory Group developed for this effort, proposes to address these key elements: (1) measurement of IV, including risk factors associated with and responses to experiences of IV; (2) sample design; (3) respondent recruitment and retention methods; (4) mode of survey administration; (5) data weighting and estimation; and (6) analysis, reporting and dissemination. Our proposed design involves recruiting college students and young adults via targeted lists maintained by vendors, a strategy that has been used in other national surveys of this age group. While targeted lists may offer the most efficient approach, we also plan to evaluate three alternative recruitment designs: a two-stage household screening design; recruitment of enrolled students after sampling schools; and pre-recruited web panels. To facilitate the collection of information about colleges, and in-person follow-up with nonrespondents, we propose to cluster the sample geographically. Westat will also undertake a power analysis to determine the sample sizes required to meet the analytic objectives of the larger study. We plan to conduct a pilot study to test planned measures and procedures. Data collected via the pilot study will be analyzed by examining the quality of contact information, reactions to advance materials, overall response rate and performance of questionnaire items (e.g., missing data, frequencies, ranges; timing information, consistency of responses); we will debrief a sample of respondents on their experience completing the survey. For the larger study, we expect that analysis goals will involve aggregate cross-sectional statistics (and estimates of change over time); individual-level trajectories; and longitudinal analyses using prior wave data as covariates. The planning effort will result in a comprehensive plan to implement the longitudinal study, which will be detailed in a final report and submitted to NIJ. The longitudinal study will produce information that can be used to inform prevention and intervention strategies and policies targeted at the causal factors of IV perpetration and victimization. ca/ncf