Abstract :
[en] Self-report delinquency (SRD) surveys have begun to be used more than 70 years ago to measure delinquency (Porterfield, 1943). Since then, lots of methods have been developed (e.g. P&P questionnaire, telephone interviewing, face-to-face interviewing, CASI, ACASI) for data collection (Kleck & Roberts, 2012). Although a lot of researches have assessed the participation rates of these methods, most of SRD surveys are submitted to non-detained adolescents . We have therefore noticed that those methods only allow us to know but little about the participation rate of young detainees and about their motivation to take part in a SRD survey. This research, which constitutes the pre-test of a further larger research, aims to: 1) Identify which method of SRD (comparing Paper & Pencil (P&P) questionnaire and Web questionnaire) has the highest participation rate and is the most attractive for young detained people, and if there are differences between boys and girls. 2) Determine the impact of an incentive on the motivation to participate in a survey, and if there are differences between boys and girls. As a result, we can observe that the SRD survey method doesn’t seem to have an influence on the participation rate of youth from detention centers. Nevertheless, the most attractive SRD survey method seems to be the Web one. As it is also less discouraging, it seems preferable to use this method with these adolescents whenever it is possible. Regarding the different kinds of incentives regularly used in research, their impact on the decision to take part in a survey turns out to be very weak, even nonexistent or negative. It appears that an incentive for juveniles placed in detention centers is inappropriate to increase their motivation to participate.
