Compliance Trends in a 14-Week Ecological Momentary Assessment Study of Undergraduate Alcohol Drinkers

High compliance is a priority for successful ecological momentary assessment (EMA) research, but meta-analyses of between-study differences show that reasons for missed prompts remain unclear. We examined compliance data from a 14-week, 182-survey EMA study of undergraduate alcohol use to test differences over time and across survey types between participants with better and worse compliance rates, and to evaluate the impact of incentives on ongoing participation. Participants were N = 196 students (65.8% female; M-age = 20.6). Overall compliance was 76.5%, declining gradually from 88.9% to 70% over 14 weeks. Declines were faster in participants with lower overall compliance, but we found no demographic, personality, mental health, or substance use differences between participants with better versus worse compliance rates. Compliance varied by survey type, and unannounced bonus incentives did not impact compliance rates. Participants completed fewer surveys the week after winning a gift card. We offer recommendations for designing future EMA studies.

Automated summary

This study analyzed compliance data from 182 surveys of EMA research and found that high compliance is crucial for successful ecological momentary assessment. However, the reasons for missed prompts remain unclear. Compliance gradually declined from 88.9% to 70% over 14 weeks, and the decline was faster in participants with lower overall compliance rates. No significant differences were found in demographics, personality, mental health, or substance use between participants with better versus worse compliance rates. Compliance varied by survey type, and unannounced bonus incentives did not affect compliance rates. Participants completed fewer surveys in the week after winning a gift card. Recommendations for future EMA studies are provided.