Interviewer gender and loneliness disclosure in survey research: evidence from the European Social Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.
- 1Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management, Erasmus University Rotterdam, PO Box 1738, Rotterdam, 3000 DR, The Netherlands. [email protected].
Abstract
Background
Loneliness is an important public health concern, but interviewer effects in face-to-face surveys may affect population-based monitoring efforts. Prior work suggests that people may be more open about sensitive topics to female interviewers than to male interviewers. This study examines whether interviewer gender influences the reporting of loneliness.Methods
Data are from 276,073 face-to-face interviews from four rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) and four waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Country-specific logistic regression models were estimated to assess the association between interviewer gender and reported loneliness, adjusting for respondent characteristics. Interaction effects with respondent gender were also examined. Country-specific average marginal effects were combined using random-effects meta-analyses. Sensitivity analyses used a continuous measure of loneliness (short UCLA scale).Results
Across datasets, the effect of interviewer gender on reported loneliness was close to zero and not statistically significant (ESS: θ = -0.001, 95% CI: -0.006 to 0.005; SHARE: θ = -0.017, 95% CI: -0.034 to 0.001; Overall: θ = -0.004, 95% CI: -0.011 to 0.002). No evidence was found for stronger effects among male respondents (ESS: θ = 0.006; 95% CI: -0.006 to 0.019; SHARE: θ = -0.005; 95% CI: -0.027 to 0.018; Overall: θ = 0.002; 95% CI: -0.009 to 0.013). Although some between-country heterogeneity was observed, effect estimates remained centered around zero. Sensitivity analyses using the UCLA loneliness scale yielded comparable results.Conclusions
These precise estimates suggest that interviewer gender is unlikely to be a source of bias in loneliness monitoring.
Related
- Trajectories of body roundness index and risk of incident hyperuricemia in middle-aged and older Chinese adults: evidence from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study
- Association between serum ferritin levels and mild cognitive impairment risk in middle-aged and older adults: evidence from the health and retirement study
- HIV serostatus disclosure to sexual partners and associated factors among reproductive-age women living with HIV in Lesotho: evidence from the 2023-2024 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey.
- Mode Effects on Self-Reported Health Across Web-Based, Interviewer-Administered, and Nurse-Administered Modes: Population-Based Study
- Allostatic Load Measurement and Cognitive Function Among Midlife and Older Black and White Adults in the Health and Retirement Study
BibTeX
@article{broek2026interviewer,
title = {{Interviewer gender and loneliness disclosure in survey research: evidence from the European Social Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.}},
author = {Thijs van den Broek},
journal = {Population health metrics},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12963-026-00503-3},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894241},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Interviewer gender and loneliness disclosure in survey research: evidence from the European Social Survey and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe.
AU - Thijs van den Broek
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/01
JO - Population health metrics
DO - 10.1186/s12963-026-00503-3
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42894241
AB - Background Loneliness is an important public health concern, but interviewer effects in face-to-face surveys may affect population-based monitoring efforts. Prior work suggests that people may be more open about sensitive topics to female interviewers than to male interviewers. This study examines whether interviewer gender influences the reporting of loneliness.Methods Data are from 276,073 face-to-face interviews from four rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS) and four waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Country-specific logistic regression models were estimated to assess the association between interviewer gender and reported loneliness, adjusting for respondent characteristics. Interaction effects with respondent gender were also examined. Country-specific average marginal effects were combined using random-effects meta-analyses. Sensitivity analyses used a continuous measure of loneliness (short UCLA scale).Results Across datasets, the effect of interviewer gender on reported loneliness was close to zero and not statistically significant (ESS: θ = -0.001, 95% CI: -0.006 to 0.005; SHARE: θ = -0.017, 95% CI: -0.034 to 0.001; Overall: θ = -0.004, 95% CI: -0.011 to 0.002). No evidence was found for stronger effects among male respondents (ESS: θ = 0.006; 95% CI: -0.006 to 0.019; SHARE: θ = -0.005; 95% CI: -0.027 to 0.018; Overall: θ = 0.002; 95% CI: -0.009 to 0.013). Although some between-country heterogeneity was observed, effect estimates remained centered around zero. Sensitivity analyses using the UCLA loneliness scale yielded comparable results.Conclusions These precise estimates suggest that interviewer gender is unlikely to be a source of bias in loneliness monitoring.
SN - 1478-7954
ER -