Bureau of Justice Assistance

Bureau of Justice Assistance. Drug Control and Use Surveys: Methodology and Implementation
Strategies. Washington, DC: Prepared for the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice
Assistance by the Criminal Justice Statistics Association; 1990. Appendices A and B," pp. 8-36.

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INTRODUCTION

Drug abuse is one of the most critical problems facing American society today. Statistical indicators--use and abuse of drugs, criminal justice and public health statistics, and intelligence information--show that various drug-related problems are increasing. In response, states are surveying their citizens as one way to gather important data for defining the problem, forging effective solutions, and educating the public.

Based on six statewide surveys on the drug problem conducted in 1987 and 1988, this technical assistance report presents guidelines for conducting citizen surveys. The six surveys were conducted as part of a multi-state drug control strategy assessment effort. The surveys covered such topics as: the nature and extent of substance abuse, perceptions of the seriousness of the drug problem in relation to other problems, attitudes about effective responses to drug problems, and willingness to support various drug control policy options. The findings of the six state surveys are presented in a report of the Consortium for Drug Strategy Impact Assessment prepared by the Criminal Justice Statistics Association (CJSA), Drug Control and Use Surveys. A Potential Tool for Developing State Drug Control Strategies.

The purpose of the surveys is to develop a set of statewide indicators on a variety of drug policy issues. The surveys were designed with cooperation among states and the Federal government. By asking comparable questions in different jurisdictions, states are able to develop and refine drug control strategies with the best available information in hand, while also providing information to the Federal government to help develop and assess national drug control efforts.

The surveys are part of a larger multi-state effort, funded by the Bureau of Justice of Assistance (BJA) and coordinated by CJSA, called the Consortium for Drug Strategy Impact Assessment. Working since January of 1988, BJA, CJSA, and representatives from 28 states have shared information regarding their drug control strategies and have developed common priority areas for data development and analysis. From these priority areas for data collection, the Consortium and CJSA has published two reports in addition to the state survey report, Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Control Task Forces: Critical Components of State Drug Control Strategies and Crime Laboratories 1988.- A Key Program of State Drug Control Strategies. The purpose of the Consortium is to assess the impact of State drug control strategies.

THE CONSORTIUM STATE SURVEYS

Six of the Consortium member states completed survey projects. They include:

1. Arizona - Conducted statewide surveys of high school, college, and adult populations on drug use, drug availability, and attitudes about drug use. The statewide adult population survey included 1,009 respondents and was conducted in October 1988. The high school survey was conducted in October, 1988. The community college survey was conducted in November, 1988, and the Northern Arizona University survey was conducted in March, 1988.

2. District of Columbia - Conducted district-wide drug opinion survey that included 450 respondents in June, 1988. Conducted a second survey in November 1989 that included 601 respondents.

3. Massachusetts - Conducted a statewide drug and crime opinion survey, which also surveyed residents in public housing developments. The statewide survey included 401 respondents and was conducted in June, 1988. The public housing survey included 139 respondents and was conducted in July, 1988.

4. Ohio - Conducted a statewide drug opinion survey. The survey included 803 respondents and was conducted in November, 1988. Also, a county drug opinion survey was conducted in early 1989 in Franklin County (Columbus).

5. Texas - Conducted a statewide household survey on drug use and abuse, and a substance use survey of secondary students. The household survey included 5,156 respondents and was conducted in the spring of 1988. The high school survey included 7,154 respondents and was conducted in the spring of 1988.

6. Utah - Conducted a drug use and opinion survey among college students. The survey included 389 respondents and was conducted in the Fall of 1988.

The Arizona survey was funded by the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission. The Texas survey was funded by the U.S. Department of Education under the Drug-Free Schools and Communities grant program and was a collaborative effort between the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse and the Public Policy Resource Laboratory of Texas A&M University. The four other states used BJA funds, disseminated by CJSA through the Consortium project, for their surveys.

Five states (Arizona, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Utah) coordinated and shared ideas on the design and implementation of their statewide household surveys. To allow state comparisons on specific items, each state agreed to ask questions in the following areas:

1. Ranking the seriousness of five youth-related problems (illiteracy, crime, alcohol use, unemployment, and drug use).

2. Appropriate responses for students caught selling drugs to other students.

3. Effective methods for combating drug abuse.

4. Knowledge of individuals who regularly abuse alcohol or illegal drugs, or who sell illegal drugs.

The surveys covered other issues such as legalization of drugs, and patterns and future projections of drug use.

This report contains a discussion of the usefulness of state survey data on drug control issues, methodological considerations that addresses issues for state survey efforts, and a survey instrument developed by the Consortium for states to use when conducting a survey.

METHODOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR STATES CONDUCTING SURVEYS

Some important lessons have been learned regarding how best to coordinate state survey projects, and which approaches (sampling, interview, and question design) produce the most useful data. A few recommendations are offered for the participating Consortium states and for other states or local jurisdictions that are contemplating drug control survey projects.

Sampling Designs and Techniques

The surveys conducted by the states included mailout surveys, household telephone surveys, and person-to-person surveys. Populations surveyed include secondary students, college students, and adults. It is suggested that future state household surveys use random digit-dialing techniques. Household surveys using this technique ensure the inclusion of unlisted numbers, providing a more representative sample of the state's population than might otherwise be obtained-enhancing the reliability of state survey data. Telephone surveys are also more cost efficient than face-to-face interviews and yield higher response rates than mailout surveys. At least three call-backs should be made for non-answering calls. It is recommended that interviewees be at least 18 years old and that the breakout by sex is representative of the population as a whole.

States should also use special sampling techniques to better understand the specific concerns of citizens in their states. For example, states may sample their most populous county or they may over-sample in rural areas. States may want to sample their urban, suburban, and rural populations and compare survey results from the different populations. The error parameter for a survey should be plus or minus five percent at the 95% level of confidence.

It is recommended that states contract for survey design and administration if they do not have survey experience. Survey work is a highly specialized field, and the best results come from trained, experienced survey practitioners. By contracting for survey design and administration, states retain two crucial roles, question development and analysis of the data while the contractor plays a role in eliminating errors such as question wording biases or sampling biases. States that use private survey contractors are generally satisfied with the quality of products delivered.

Question Wording

Slight differences in wording can negate a state-by-state comparison. For example, Arizona, Ohio, and Utah include questions about drug control policy options that respondents might describe as "effective," while the District of Columbia survey asks respondents about "cost effective" policy options. This prohibits a direct comparison of results among those states. It would be misleading to assume similar interpretations of effectiveness and cost effectiveness, especially since the responses between the District and the other states differed.

Similarly, some states asked respondents if they personally knew of an individual who abused alcohol, used or sold drugs. The Massachusetts surveys, however, asked respondents if they think other people in their neighborhood use alcohol or drugs. The differences in these items preclude any viable comparisons between Massachusetts and other states. Additionally, the terms "abuse" and "use" require clarification and consistent application across the states' surveys. Attempts should be made to develop common definitions of behavior that constitute use and abuse.

When asking respondents about their preferred drug policy options, some states allowed a response to all options, while the District of Columbia and Utah surveys forced respondents to choose between the same range of options. Two valuable findings emerge from this variation: the Arizona and Ohio surveys, which allow responses to all policy options, demonstrated that public opinion supports different policy options; and the District and Utah surveys show that, when forced to make a choice, differences among states become more apparent.

It is recommended that states conducting surveys use the exact wording, sequence, and placement of the 22 common battery questions listed in Appendix A. Additionally, all surveys should use the same introductory language (excepting the names of the sponsoring agencies or contractors), and place the 14 substantive questions from Appendix A first on the survey and the eight demographic questions last. States may then add any number of substantive or demographic questions to their surveys. Appendix B includes examples of state surveys on drug use and abuse that may be helpful to states in developing additional questions for citizen opinion surveys.

Future Analyses and Questions

Four states (Arizona, the District of Columbia, Ohio, and Utah) asked respondents to choose the best sanctioning option for students caught selling drugs to other students from a list that included: let the police and courts handle it, expel the student, provide counseling, or let the parents handle it. Interestingly, in all four states respondents did not believe that the parents should handle it. This may suggest that respondents feel that the drug problem is so unmanageable that parents cannot handle it, or it may suggest that respondents view the drug problem strictly as a societal issue to be dealt with by the criminal justice and social service systems. Future surveys in the states need to ask questions that allow more in-depth analyses of citizens' responses to questions of this type. For example, a survey question should be included that asks the respondent if he/she is a parent. In this way, the survey results can examine if there are differences in responses between respondents who are parents and respondents who are not parents.

State surveys also need to pose questions that address how citizens feel about the drug user versus the drug seller. There were some indications in the survey states that citizens view the sale of drugs as a more serious problem than the use of drugs. Does this mean that citizens will tolerate more drug use than drug sales? Future surveys should incorporate questions that gauge citizens' opinions and perceptions about drug use versus the drug sales.

The state surveys in this report also suggest a need for exploring citizens' perceptions and opinions regarding alcohol use and abuse. For example, adults in Arizona ranked the drug problem as a top concern for youth today. Yet, when high school seniors and college students were asked if they had ever used alcohol or four other drugs, or had used them in the past month, the percentages reporting alcohol use were much higher than the percentages reporting drug use. How is this disparity between perception of drug use and actual drug use to be interpreted?

Hopefully, policymakers at all levels will pursue state surveys, keeping in mind the surveys' benefits and limitations. Based on the experiences of the six Consortium state surveys, a new survey instrument was developed by the Consortium for use in future survey projects (Appendix A). More collaboration of this nature must occur to improve and augment the state drugs survey efforts. To further this goal, Consortium participants will continue to refine and augment this cooperative state survey program.

USEFULNESS OF STATE SURVEY DATA

State and local decisionmakers will benefit greatly from constituent surveys. Surveys provide elected officials with information about what the public thinks, and provide guidance for specific policy issues. Surveys are also useful for assessing the public's level of fear, concern, or frustration about a specific issue. Surveys also identify public education needs. At the very least, surveys provide additional data for decisions that take into account many sources of information. Few drug control policymakers would want to be without such data, though few can afford to collect them on a regular basis.

State surveys allow policymakers and analysts to address questions that have been suggested by other data sources or by national surveys, and for which data are scarce. For example, while state estimates of drug use can be made from national survey data, more precise state and local estimates can be made from state surveys that use probability samples. 71iis is especially true when examining special populations.

State and local decisionmakers must also be aware of the limitations of survey research. Survey data can be easily misinterpreted and survey questions can be misstated. It is difficult to determine actual attitude shifts among the public. It is also difficult to determine if people really mean what they say. Finally, surveys introduce the danger of saturation, that is, as a nation, we are "overpolled."

State survey data are useful at the national or regional level as well. When sufficient comparability in questionnaire design and survey methods across states is achieved, as the Consortium states attempt to do, the ability to make specific state-to-state comparisons on questions of national interest is an immense benefit. If states report real differences (not statistical artifacts, or questionnaire design or sample bias) on items such as drug use patterns and drug availability, then more in-depth analyses can be conducted to isolate factors contributing to these differences (age, population group, and geographic location). For example, the similarity of responses by state citizens on the questions regarding knowledge of people who use and sell drugs will achieve greater significance if the findings are replicated and if future surveys delve into drug types and the relationship between drug user or seller and the respondent. These efforts will further the battle against drug abuse. Cooperation among the states and across levels of government will produce significant benefits in this regard.

APPENDIX A

Consortium Survey Questions on Drug Use and Drug Control Strategies

1990 Consortium Survey Questions on Drug Use and Drug Control Strategies

1. I would like to name seven issues which people may consider to be problem areas for America right now. Please listen to the seven problem areas, then tell me which three, in order, you consider to be the most serious (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd most serious problems):

Crime
Damage to the environment
Taking care of the needy
Drug abuse
Public education
Alcohol abuse
Problems relating to the economy

2. Which one of the following statements best summarizes your feelings about where the U.S. will be with the drug problems 20 to 25 years from now?

Drug abuse will be eliminated as a social problem
Drug abuse will decline, but still be a problem
Drug abuse will continue to be a problem, about as serious as it is now
Drug abuse will increase, becoming an even more serious problem

3. Which one of the following groups do you think you can do the most to help in the fight against drugs?

Schools
Police and courts
Family
Churches
Treatment centers
Business and industry

4. Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with this statement: I would favor the use of taxpayer dollars to support drug treatment or education programs in churches, synagogues or other religious institutions.

Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Don't know; No opinion

(The Consortium is not requiring the states to use this question.)

5. How much, if any, would you be willing to see your state and local income taxes increased in order to provide the money for the fight against drug abuse:

No increase
$50 per year increase
Between $50 and $300 per year increase
More than a $300 per year increase
Don't know
Refused

6. Which of the following statements best reflects your views on how to handle people who use illegal drugs?

They should be arrested and prosecuted.
They should be treated medically, like any person with a physical or emotional problem.
They should be left alone unless they are bothering somebody.

7. For a student found to be selling drugs to other students, what do you think should be the proper response by school officials?

Let the police and courts handle the matter.
Expel the students from school.
Keep the student in school and provide counseling.
Keep the student in school, but let the parents handle any discipline.

8. There are a number of possible methods of combating drug abuse. Which one of the following do you think should receive the most money and effort?

Drug treatment and rehabilitation.
Arrest and prosecution of drug law violators.
Drug abuse education and prevention.
Stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country.
Don't know
Refused

9. Some people today say that making drugs legal would remove the trade from criminals and reduce the health hazards to users. Others argue that this would greatly increase the number of drug users and overload our capacity to deal with them. Which one of the following statements best fits you own beliefs about this issue?

The sale of all drugs should be legal on the open market.
The sale of most drugs should be legal, except the two or three most dangerous ones.
The sale of most drugs should not be legal, except marijuana.
None of the drugs which are now illegal should be made legal for sale.
Don't know
Refused

10. How much do you think people risk harming themselves (physically or in other ways), if they....(Rate each response 1=No risk, 2=Slight risk, 3=Moderate risk, 4=Great risk, 5=Can't say, 6=Drug is unfamiliar)

Try marijuana once or twice ___
Smoke marijuana occasionally ___
Smoke marijuana regularly ___
Try cocaine once or twice ___
Use cocaine occasionally ___
Use cocaine regularly ___
Have an occasional drink at a party ___
Have 5 or more drinks each weekend ___
Have 1 or 2 drinks nearly every day ___
Have 4 or 5 drinks nearly every day ___
More than 5 drinks nearly every day ___

(The Consortium is not requiring the states to use this question.)

11. Do you personally know of an individual who regularly abuses alcohol?

Yes
No
Don't know
Refused

12. Do you personally know of an individual who regularly uses illegal drugs?

Yes
No
Don't know
Refused

13. Do you personally know of an individual who regularly sells illegal drugs?

Yes
No
Don't know
Refused

14. Does anyone in your household have a drug abuse problem?

Yes
No
Don't know
Refused

15. May I please ask your age? _____

16. What is your race or ethnic origin?

White
Black
Hispanic
American Indian
Asian
Other

17. What is your current marital status?

Married
Divorced
Widowed
Separated
Never married

18. What is the highest level of formal education that you have completed?

Junior high
High school
College
Vocational training
Graduate training

19. What is your present employment status?

Employed, full time
Student, but employed part time
Homemaker, but employed part time
Employed part time
Unemployed, seeking work
Unemployed, not seeking work
Not in labor force (full time student or homemaker, retired, disabled, etc.)

20. We need to know which one of the following categories reflects your current total family income:

Less than $5,000
$5,000 - $9,999
$10,000 - $14,999
$15,000 - $19,999
$20,000 - $24,999
$25,000 - $29,999
$30,000 - $39,999
$40,000 - $49,999
$50,000 - $74,999
$75,000 - or more

21. How many telephone lines with separate numbers do you have in your home? _____

22. Are you male or female?

Male
Female

APPENDIX B Examples of State Surveys on Drug Use and Abuse

D.C. Drug Opinion Survey

1. For students found to be selling drugs to other students, what do you think should be the proper response by school officials?

let the police and courts handle the matter (1)
expel the students from school (2)
keep the student in school and provide counseling (3)
keep the student in school, but let the parents handle any discipline (4)

2. In general, which one of the following approaches do you feel would be most effective in combating drug abuse?

more resources for drug treatment and rehabilitation (1)
more resources for arrest, prosecution, and detention of drug law violators (2)
more resources for drug abuse education and prevention (3)
more resources for stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country (4)

3. To what extent, if any, would you be willing to see your taxes increase in order to provide...(repeat answer given in previous question)?

no increase (1)
$50 per year (2)
$300 per year (3)
more than $300 per year (4)

4. Do you personally know of an individual who regularly uses illegal drugs?

Yes (1)
No (2)

5. Do you personally know of an individual who regularly sells illegal drugs?

Yes (1)
No (2)

6. Do you personally know of an individual who abuses alcohol?

Yes (1)
No (2)

7. Next, for each of the following drug related activities, please tell me how likely, someone is to be caught or arrested for doing that activity-very likely to be caught or arrested, fairly likely, not very likely, or not likely at all to be caught or arrested for doing that. First take...(start with item, circled and continue in order until an answer has been recorded for each item).

	very likely	fairly likely	not very likely	not likely at all
a) using drugs	1	2	3	4
b) selling drugs	1	2	3	4
c) buying drugs	1	2	3	4
d) allowing one's apartment to be used by drug dealers	1	2	3	4

8. Next, I'd like to know how big a worry or concern, if at all, each of the following things is in your neighborhood. Using a range of zero to 100, with zero meaning it does not bother or upset you at all and 100 meaning it bothers you so much that you never stop worrying or being very upset about it, please tell me how big a worry or concern each of the following is in your neighborhood. First take...(start with item circled, and continue in order until an answer has been recorded for each item).

a) traffic congestion	____	____	____
b) noise from public disturbances or fighting	____	____	____
c) potholes	____	____	____
d) armed robberies and muggings	____	____	____
e) dirty streets and sidewalks	____	____	____
f) drug trafficking and selling	____	____	____
g) auto-thefts	____	____	____
h) the number of people with handguns	____	____	____
i) vandalism	____	____	____
j) rapes	____	____	____
k) burglaries	____	____	____
l) murders	____	____	____
m) purse snatching	____	____	____

9. Do you feel that illegal drug use should be dealt with as a public health problem instead of a crime problem?

yes (1)
no (3)
not sure (2)

10. Do you believe that legalization of drugs would, in the long run, reduce the number of people selling drugs?

yes (1)
no (2)
not sure (3)

11. Do you believe that legalization of drugs would, in the long run, reduce the number of people using drugs?

yes (1)
no (2)
not sure (3)

12. Do you feel that legalization of drugs would, in the long run, reduce drug-related crime?

yes (1)
no (2)
not sure (3)

13. Do you feel that lawmakers should consider the possibility of legalizing marijuana?

yes (1)
no (2)
not sure (3)

14. Do you feel that lawmakers should consider the possibility of legalizing cocaine?

yes (1)
no (2)
not sure (3)

15. Next, tell me how effective, if at all, you think each of the following would be in fighting drugs-very effective, fairly effective, not very effective, or not effective at all. First take...(start with item circled, and continue in order until an answer has been recorded for each item).

	Very Effective	Fairly Effective	Not Very Effective	Not Effective At All
a) Life sentences, with no chance of parole, for convicted drug dealers	1	2	3	4
b) Better Drug Education programs in the schools	1	2	3	4
c) Putting more programs in the schools	1	2	3	4
d) Confiscating the property of convicted drug dealers	1	2	3	4
e) The death penalty for convicted drug dealers	1	2	3	4
f) Speedy eviction of tenants arrested on drug charges	1	2	3	4
g) Requiring high school students to tour prisons to learn first-hand from inmates what drug abuse has done to them	1	2	3	4

16. First please tell me your age _____.

17. Do you own the house or apartment in which you live, or do you rent?

Own (1)
Rent (2)

18. Do you have any children under the age of 18?

Yes (1)
No (2)

19. Are you male or female?

Male (1)
Female (2)

20. Which ward do you live in?

b. What is the name of your neighborhood?

21. What is your Zip Code?

22. What is you race, nationality or ethnic origin-are you white, black, Hispanic, American Indian, Asian, or something else?

white (1)
black (2)
Hispanic (3)
American Indian (4)
Asian (5)
Other (Specify) (6)

23. What is your marital status-are you single, married, widowed, separated, or divorced?

Single (1)
Married (2)
Widowed (3)
Separated (4)
Divorced (5)

Drug Use And Abuse Questionnaire

1. If I have your permission I would like to begin by reading you a list of five problems currently troubling American youth (17 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER). Please tell me if you think each problem is very serious, somewhat serious, not very serious, or not serious at all.

Illiteracy

Very serious (1), Somewhat serious (2), Not very serious (3), Not serious at all (4)

Crime

Very serious (1), Somewhat serious (2), Not very serious (3), Not serious at all (4)

Alcohol use

Very serious (1), Somewhat serious (2), Not very serious (3), Not serious at all (4)

Unemployment

Very serious (1), Somewhat serious (2), Not very serious (3), Not serious at all (4)

Drug use

Very serious (1), Somewhat serious (2), Not very serious (3), Not serious at all (4)

2. Now I would like to get your response to several statements reflecting various views on youth involvement with drugs. After I read each statement, please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree with that statement.

Youth involvement with drugs is:

just a form of rebellion.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

the most dangerous threat to ever face the younger generation.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

a serious problem, but no worse than others facing kids today, such as teenage pregnancy or school-related problems.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

3. We are interested in what you think school officials should do with students caught selling drugs to other students. Please tell me if you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with each of the following possible actions that school officials might take if they caught a student selling drugs to another student.

Let the police and courts handle it.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

Expel the student from school.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

Keep the student in school and provide counseling.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

Keep the student in school but let parents handle any discipline.

Strongly agree (1), Agree (2), Disagree (3), Strongly disagree (4)

3. Now I would like you to tell me if you think each of the following five statements are true or false.

Most drug abuse occurs among kids high-school age and younger.