Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, Vol 52, Issue 4 P175-P177, Copyright © 1997 by The Gerontological Society of America
Asking the age question in elderly populations: a reverse record check study
JH Smit, DJ Deeg and BA Schmand
Department of Sociology and Social Gerontology, Free University, The Netherlands. [email protected]
In two large-scale surveys among elderly respondents we evaluated the
accuracy of answers obtained to three differently formulated age questions.
Respondents included 6,149 individuals aged 65-86 living in The
Netherlands. Because criterion age data were available from different
sources, it was possible to compare the respondent's reported age with his
or her actual age. Refusal rates were low for all three questions. Both age
and cognitive capabilities influenced accuracy of the answers to the age
questions. The results indicated that the most accurate data were obtained
with the question, "What is your date of birth?" in combination with
interview date.
