Effects of Interviewer Characteristics on Reported Sexual Behavior of California Latino Couples

Abstract

Effects of interviewer gender and age on disclosure of sexual behavior by 573 California Latino men and their female partners were analyzed,adjusting for interviewee clustering within interviewer. Larger standard errors in adjusted than in naive/unadjusted regression models demonstrated the existence of interviewer effects on responding,but these were only attributable to interviewer gender or age for a small number of specific topics. Men interviewed by women reported fewer sexual partners and were less likely to report sex with strangers than men interviewed by men; they were more likely to report sex with prostitutes or other men to older than to younger interviewers. Women were less likely to report oral sex to older interviewers. Sexual behavior surveys should evaluate and, where detected, adjust for fixed interviewer effects and should routinely report interviewer numbers, panel sizes, and other characteristics.