Are postal surveys in child psychiatry feasible? Results of an epidemiological study

Psychiatric epidemiology has enjoyed a prominent position in the Nordic countries. The low response rate in a recent postal survey in child psychiatry indicates that conditions for psychiatric research may have changed. Fear of data misuse and lack of total anonymity for respondents were important reasons for non-response. Responders came from the higher socioeconomic groups. A small reimbursement paid to responders in the pilot study did not increase the response rate. Implications for survey design in child psychiatric epidemiology are discussed.