The Accuracy of Age Reporting among Elderly African Americans: Evidence of a Birth Registration Effect

This paper expands on previous research that has documented relatively high levels of inconsistency in age information for elderly African Americans. Drawing on a sample of death certificates for Maryland-born African Americans purportedly aged 65-79 at death in 1985, the validity of age data in both death certificates and social security records is examined by linkage to a birth record. The commonly assumed relationship between availability of birth registration and quality of age reporting also is investigated. Among matches to a birth record, age on social security records is significantly mor e accurate than on death records. Age agreement between matched death and social securit y records closely reflects age validity as determin ed from birth records. Findings based on logistic regression analysis support the hypothesized birth registration eff ect: controlling for demographic characteristics, persons with a birth certificate exhibited greater age agreement on linked death certificates and social security records (odds ratio = 2.3).