More is not always better: An experimental individual-level validation of the randomized response technique and the crosswise model.

Social desirability and the fear of sanctions can deter survey respondents from responding truthfully to sensitive questions. Self-reports on norm breaking behavior such as shoplifting, non-voting, or tax evasion may thus be subject to considerable misreporting. To mitigate such response bias, various indirect question techniques, such as the randomized response technique (RRT), have been proposed.

Estimating the prevalence of illicit drug use among students using the crosswise model.

Objective: The aim of our study is to compare the prevalence of illicit drug use estimated through a technique referred to as the "crosswise model" (CM) with the results from conventional direct questioning (DQ).

Method: About 1,500 students from Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2009-2010 were first interviewed by DQ and, then three months later, by the CM.

Result: The CM yielded significantly higher estimates than DQ for lifetime prevalence of use of any illicit drug (CM = 20.

Estimating Heterogeneous Treatment Effects with Observational Data.

Individuals differ not only in their background characteristics, but also in how they respond to a particular treatment, intervention, or stimulation. In particular, treatment effects may vary systematically by the propensity for treatment. In this paper, we discuss a practical approach to studying heterogeneous treatment effects as a function of the treatment propensity, under the same assumption commonly underlying regression analysis: ignorability.

Social determinants of sex differences in disability among older adults: a multi-country decomposition analysis using the World Health Survey.

Introduction: Women represent a growing proportion of older people and experience increasing disability in their longer lives. Using a universally agreed definition of disability based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, this paper examines how, apart from age, social and economic factors contribute to disability differences between older men and women.

Methods: World Health Survey data were analyzed from 57 countries drawn from all income groups defined by the World Bank.