Centre for Policy on Ageing



Asking the age question in elderly populations — a reverse record check study
Author(s)	Johannes H Smit, Dorly J H Deeg, Ben A Schmand
Journal title	The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological sciences and social sciences, vol 52B, no 4, July 1997
Pages	pp P175-P177
Keywords	Mental speed ; Cognitive processes ; Age groups [elderly] ; Questionnaires ; Netherlands.
Annotation	In two large-scale surveys among older Dutch respondents, the authors examined 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. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-971125271 A
Classmark	DG: DA: BB: 3DA: 76H
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.