Follow-up survey for adults

ATTACHMENT d

OVERVIEW OF THE 12-MONTH FOLLOW-UP SURVEY FOR ADULT PARTICIPANTS

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Overview of the 12-Month Follow-Up Survey for Sites Serving Adults

In STREAMS sites serving adults, the evaluation team plans to interview each study participant twice. The first (adult baseline) interview will occur immediately before randomization. This instrument is included in the current OMB submission (Instrument 10). The second (follow-up) interview will be conducted approximately 12 months after random assignment. Both the baseline and follow-up surveys will be conducted using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) by a trained interviewer.

While many components of the follow-up survey are known, the instrument may change as we learn more about the specific goals and programming components of selected STREAMS programs. We will submit the final adult follow-up survey instrument as a non-substantive change prior to the start of follow-up survey data collection. We anticipate that the follow-up instrument will take respondents an average of 45 minutes to complete and that it will be completed by 80 percent of the 4,000 sample members who complete the baseline interview, for a total of 3,200 respondents.

STREAMS interventions aim to strengthen the quality of romantic relationships, improve relationship outcomes, and increase economic stability. The follow-up survey is intended to capture these key outcomes that these interventions aim to improve. For this reason, the follow-up instrument will include six topical sections: (1) Relationship Attitudes and Skills; (2) Relationships with Partners; (3) Relationships with Children; (4) Employment and Economic Well-Being, (5) Participant Well-Being, and (6) Program Experiences. Information on the specific types of data to be collected with regard to each topic is presented in the table below. Here, we briefly describe the purpose of each section and its relevance to the evaluation. Table D.1 provides additional information on the sections of the 12-month follow-up survey of participants.

The Relationship Attitudes and Skills section represents a set of key outcomes for the STREAMS evaluation, since these interventions aim explicitly to improve relationship attitudes and skills. This section will contain many of the same questions asked at baseline on these topics, in order to assess the impact STREAMS programs may have had on program participant attitudes about couple interactions and intimate partner violence, their sense of self-efficacy in relationships, their attitudes toward marriage, and their self-assessment of conflict management skills.

The Relationships with Romantic Partners section will serve three purposes. First, it will gather data on participant relationships that began or ended following baseline data collection and update information on any relationships that existed at baseline and persisted at the time of follow-up. Second, the section will gather more detailed information on current relationship status (whether the respondent is romantically involved, cohabiting, or married), as well as an assessment of the current quality of the relationship with the respondent’s partner at baseline, including: overall relationship satisfaction, and participant assessments of trust, conflict, communication, and infidelity. These questions will be replicated from the baseline survey and provide insight into whether STREAMS interventions improve experiences within relationships that persisted since baseline. If the respondent has formed a new romantic relationship since baseline, this section will include a shorter list of similar measures to document the quality of the current relationship. Third, it will collect information about the number of relationship transitions and incidents of intimate partner violence respondents may have experienced since baseline. This information will allow the evaluation team to track whether the STREAMS interventions reduce relationship instability and the likelihood that participants are involved in abusive relationships.

The Relationships with Children and Co-Parents section will serve three purposes. First, it will collect information on any children born since the baseline survey and whether the respondent is currently expecting a baby. This information is necessary to understand whether STREAMS program participation influenced fertility decisions. Second, the section will ask about relationships and interactions with children. Many of these items will be replicated from the baseline survey in order to assess the impact STREAMS programs might have on relationships with children and parenting behaviors. Specific topic areas include: whether the respondent lives with the child, the amount of time spent with the child, and the participant’s assessment of relationship quality with the child. Third, it will ask respondents about the quality of the co-parenting relationship with the other parent of these children.

The STREAMS interventions’ focus on employment is intended to promote employment and economic well-being so that participants are better able to support themselves and their families. The data collected in this section are crucial for understanding whether and how the interventions influenced employment status, job-seeking behaviors, attitudes toward work, barriers to work, public program participation, formal and informal employment, housing quality and stability, income and assets, and material hardship.

The section on Participant Physical and Mental Well-Being will be used to track whether STREAMS improves mental and emotional health and increases a sense of self-efficacy. In most cases, health outcomes will be replicated from the baseline survey in order to facilitate comparisons across time. These measures will help us examine how STREAMS interventions may have affected the physical and mental well-being of program participants.

The Social Support section will gather information about the breadth and quality of the respondent’s social support network. The data collected in this section will help us understand how STREAMS interventions may have affected relationships and social connections beyond romantic relationships, an important measure of respondent well-being.

The Criminal Justice Involvement section will collect data on the number of arrests and convictions, periods of incarceration, and probation or parole status since baseline. These measures will help us examine how STREAMS interventions may have affected interactions of program participants with the criminal justice system.

In the Program Participation section, we will collect data on service receipt, which is crucial for understanding the types of programs to which control group members had access and whether these services were similar to those received by the treatment group. Furthermore, this information is useful for understanding whether treatment group members were induced to participate in additional services beyond the STREAMS interventions. Comparing the services received by the two research groups is essential for interpreting program impacts.

Table D.1 Topics for STREAMS Follow-Up Survey

Topic	Included in Baseline
Relationship Attitudes and Skills
Attitudes and beliefs about healthy relationships, intimate partner violence, and marriage; self-assessment of conflict resolution skills and ability to form successful romantic relationships.	Yes
Relationships with Romantic Partners
For respondents in romantic relationships at the time of the baseline survey: status of that relationship (still romantically involved, currently cohabiting, currently married) and reason the relationship ended (if applicable); For respondents in the same romantic relationship at follow-up that they were in at baseline: relationship satisfaction; respondent assessment of trust and respect in the relationship; respondent assessment of conflict resolution skills; and instances of infidelity in the relationship since baseline.For respondents in a new romantic relationship at the time of follow-up: cohabitation and marital status with romantic partner; relationship satisfaction. For all respondents: number of romantic partners since baseline; information about intimate partner violence in any relationships since baseline.	Yes
Relationships with Children and Co-Parents
Number of children born since baseline; current pregnancy status and due date; respondent assessment of whether pregnancy was wanted/intended, if applicable; quality and status of relationship with mother/father of the child, if applicable. For children born since follow-up and children asked about at baseline: child residence; frequency of in-person contact with the child; respondent assessment of closeness with each child; and self-assessment of quality co-parenting relationship with child’s mother/father and co-parenting skills.	Yes
Employment and Economic Well-Being
Knowledge of financial literacy concepts; attitudes toward work and improving economic circumstances; quality of workplace relationships	No
Job search activities; education and training received; barriers to employment	No
Income and assistance. Sources of income, support and assistance received in the past month, including SNAP, TANF, SSI, SSDI, Unemployment Insurance, and Medicaid.	Yes
Employment and earnings history since baseline. Since baseline: job start date, end date, wage rate, hours worked, health insurance and benefits	Yes
Material hardship. Housing instability, difficulty in paying bills, food insufficiency.	No
Participant Physical and Mental Well-Being
Overall health self-assessment; depressive symptoms; respondent sense of self-efficacy.	Yes
Social Support
Number of people the respondent could ask for help in emergency and non-emergency circumstances; respondent perception of social support availability and quality.	No
Criminal Justice Involvement
Since baseline, number of arrests and convictions, periods of incarceration, and probation or parole status.	Yes
Program Participation
Since baseline, participation in healthy marriage or relationship education; employment classes or trainings; employment/work experience opportunities; parenting education; financial literacy classes; mental health services; case management services; and legal programs or services. Dosage information will be collected for each type of service received.	No

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