Response reliability of demographic data: a longitudinal study in Sri Lanka

Response consistency was examined by linking the records of women interviewed in the 1982 Sri Lanka Contraceptive Prevalence Survey with records from the same individuals followed up 3 years later. Seventy-eight percent of women reported identical year of birth in the two surveys, but only 58% were consistent for age at marriage. Data on sterilisation and number of children born were highly reliable, but wives' reports on husband's age and education were relatively weak. Multivariate analysis of the effects of socioeconomic factors on consistency in age reporting confirms that education is the most influential factor related to consistency, followed by religion and husband's occupation.