Recalling Sexual Behavior: A Methodological Analysis of Memory Recall Bias Via Interview Using the Diary As the Gold Standard‪.‬

Retrospective self-reported assessments of sexual behavior are a mainstay of research on human sexuality. Systematic bias in self-reports of sexual behavior is generally associated with two factors: self-disclosure and recall bias. Research on self-disclosure bias (i.e., deliberate misrepresentation of the truth about one's self) in sex research has been reviewed previously (Catania, 1999). Researchers have less often studied problems of recall bias associated with retrospective reports of sexual behavior (Catania et al., 1993; Croyle & Loftus, 1993). One reason for this is the lack of a recall bias assessment method that might be applied to behaviors that, except for rare circumstances, are private and unavailable to investigators for direct study. To a large extent, surveys of sexual behavior require respondents to tap episodic memories of prior sexual experiences. Recall of episodic memories is subject to errors caused by telescoping (i.e., assigning events to the recall period that occurred prior to or after the recall period) and forgetting (Croyle & Loftus, 1993). Daily diaries provide a means of reducing these errors, because daily diaries can be used to record behaviors occurring on the same day (or within 24 hours).