title: The accuracy of survey-reported marital status: evidence from survey records matched to Social Security records.
abstract: Researchers have concluded that divorced persons often fail to report accurate marital information in surveys. I revisit this issue using surveys matched exactly to Social Security data. Older divorced persons frequently misreport their marital status, but there is evidence that the misreporting is unintentional. I offer some suggestions on how surveys can be improved.
authors.affiliation: Division of Economic Research, Washington, DC 20254-0001, USA. David.A.Weaver@ssa.gov
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weaver
mesh_terms: D019352:Censuses; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004243:Divorce; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012943:Social Security / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017805:Widowhood