Let's Talk about Sex, Maybe: Interviewers, Respondents, and Sexual Behavior Reporting in Rural South Africa

Brian Houle; Nicole Angotti; Samuel J Clark; Jill Williams; F Xavier Gómez-Olivé; Jane Menken; Chodziwadziwa Kabudula; Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch; Stephen M Tollman

doi:10.1177/1525822X15595343

Let's Talk about Sex, Maybe: Interviewers, Respondents, and Sexual Behavior Reporting in Rural South Africa

Brian Houle
, Nicole Angotti
, Samuel J Clark
, Jill Williams
, F Xavier Gómez-Olivé
, Jane Menken
, Chodziwadziwa Kabudula
, Kerstin Klipstein-Grobusch
, Stephen M Tollman

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Researchers are often skeptical of sexual behavior surveys: respondents may lie or forget details of their intimate lives, and interviewers may exercise authority in how they capture responses. We use data from a 2010-2011 cross-sectional sexual behavior survey in rural South Africa to explore who says what to whom about their sexual lives. Results show an effect of fieldworker age across outcomes -- respondents report "safer", more "responsible" sexual behavior to older fieldworkers; and an effect of fieldworker sex -- men report more sexual partners to female fieldworkers. Understanding fieldworker effects on the production of sexual behavior survey data serves methodological and analytical goals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	112-132
Number of pages	21
Journal	Field Methods
Volume	28
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X15595343
Publication status	Published - 2016

Keywords

Africa; interviewer effects; sexual behavior; social desirability; surveys

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10.1177/1525822X15595343

Cite this

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abstract = "Researchers are often skeptical of sexual behavior surveys: respondents may lie or forget details of their intimate lives, and interviewers may exercise authority in how they capture responses. We use data from a 2010-2011 cross-sectional sexual behavior survey in rural South Africa to explore who says what to whom about their sexual lives. Results show an effect of fieldworker age across outcomes -- respondents report {"}safer{"}, more {"}responsible{"} sexual behavior to older fieldworkers; and an effect of fieldworker sex -- men report more sexual partners to female fieldworkers. Understanding fieldworker effects on the production of sexual behavior survey data serves methodological and analytical goals.",

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doi = "10.1177/1525822X15595343",

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T2 - Interviewers, Respondents, and Sexual Behavior Reporting in Rural South Africa

AU - Houle, Brian

AU - Angotti, Nicole

AU - Clark, Samuel J

AU - Williams, Jill

AU - Gómez-Olivé, F Xavier

AU - Menken, Jane

AU - Kabudula, Chodziwadziwa

AU - Klipstein-Grobusch, Kerstin

AU - Tollman, Stephen M

PY - 2016

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AB - Researchers are often skeptical of sexual behavior surveys: respondents may lie or forget details of their intimate lives, and interviewers may exercise authority in how they capture responses. We use data from a 2010-2011 cross-sectional sexual behavior survey in rural South Africa to explore who says what to whom about their sexual lives. Results show an effect of fieldworker age across outcomes -- respondents report "safer", more "responsible" sexual behavior to older fieldworkers; and an effect of fieldworker sex -- men report more sexual partners to female fieldworkers. Understanding fieldworker effects on the production of sexual behavior survey data serves methodological and analytical goals.

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JO - Field Methods

JF - Field Methods

IS - 2

ER -

Let's Talk about Sex, Maybe: Interviewers, Respondents, and Sexual Behavior Reporting in Rural South Africa

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Keywords

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