The question of onymity and anonymity of a questionnaire in a drug use survey.
In a drug use survey of 457 final-year medical students a self-administered questionnaire included the controversial question whether such questionnaires should be onymous or anonymous. Definite answers either in favour of or against anonymity were given by 216 respondents. Of these, 72.2 per cent were in favour of anonymity, only 27.8 per cent favoured onymity. Among those who provided ambiguous answers, or who did not respond on the issue of anonymity vs. onymity, there were significantly more drug users. Where there was no family history of drug use, or where parents definitely disapproved of drug use, a high proportion of respondents were in favour of anonymity.
D000851:Anonyms and Pseudonyms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires