Reporting of early adolescent reproductive and sexual health events: how reliable are Demographic and Household Survey data?

Sarah Neal, University of Southampton
Victoria Hosegood, University of Southampton

The accuracy of indicators for age sexual debut, marriage and first birth, particularly in relation to younger adolescents, is poorly understood despite evidence that social desirability bias and recall bias may strongly influence women’s reports of these events. We use data from two Demographic and Household Surveys conducted five years apart in each of nine African and Latin American countries to examine women’s reports of age at sexual debut, marriage or first union and first birth. We describe the consistency of estimates between surveys and between birth cohorts, focusing particularly on reporting of events before ages 15 and 16 years. We find marked differences in estimates for very early first births and marriage. Women aged 15-19 years are much less likely to report marriages and first births before age 15 years than do women from the same birth cohort when asked five years later at age 20-24 years.