Comparing Self-Reported and Partnership-Inferred Sexual Orientation in Household Surveys

Simon Kühne, Martin Kroh and David Richter

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2019, vol. 35, issue 4, 777-805

Abstract: Research comparing heterosexuals with bisexuals and homosexuals in economics and the social sciences typically relies on two strategies to identify sexual orientation in existing survey data of general populations. Probing respondents to self-report their sexual orientation is generally considered the preferred option. Since self-reports are unavailable in most largemultidisciplinary surveys, often researchers infer sexual orientation fromthe gender-constellation of a respondent's partnership instead. Based on German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) data, this article reviews both strategies empirically in the context of a household panel survey. The analysis shows that self-reported and partnership-inferred sexual orientation are not mutual substitutes, instead leading to substantively different conclusions about differences between heterosexuals and LGBs (Lesbian, Gays, and Bisexuals). The article discusses problems of non-coverage in partnershipinferred sexual orientation and also investigates measurement error in self-reported sexual orientation, finding notable mode and interviewer effects.

Keywords: Surveys; Sexual orientation; Measurement error; Interviewer effects; Survey methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/214635/1/K ... ng-Self-Reported.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Comparing Self-Reported and Partnership-Inferred Sexual Orientation in Household Surveys (2019)
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:214635

DOI: 10.2478/jos-2019-0033

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters from ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics ().