Response Bias in Reports of Father's Education and Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

This article compares independent interview responses of fathers and their sons to questions about the educational attainmentand occupational status of the father. There is a high degree of congruence between the son's and father's estimates of both variables. When, however, reporting differences are regressed on various demographic characteristics reported by the son, the responses of youths with certain characteristics are found to deviate significantly from their fathers'. Practical implications of these systematic deviations are discussed.