Trends and Correlates of Consenting to Provide Social Security Numbers: Longitudinal Findings from the General Social Survey (1993–2010)

Jibum Kim; Hee Choon Shin; Zohn Rosen; Jeong Han Kang; Jennifer Dykema; Peter Muennig

doi:10.1177/1525822X15572334

Trends and Correlates of Consenting to Provide Social Security Numbers: Longitudinal Findings from the General Social Survey (1993–2010)

Jibum Kim, Hee Choon Shin, Zohn Rosen, Jeong Han Kang, Jennifer Dykema, Peter Muennig

Department of Sociology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Privacy and confidentiality are often of great concern to respondents answering sensitive questions posed by interviewers. Using the 1993–2010 General Social Survey, we examined trends in the provision of social security numbers (SSNs) and correlates of those responses. Results indicate that the rate of SSN provision has declined over the past three decades, that is, from about 60% in 1993–1994 to 20% after 2004. Although younger, unmarried, and less-educated respondents are more likely to provide SSNs, an indicator of trust toward others is not a significant predictor of SSN provision. Further, those who refuse to report their income and who receive an incentive are less likely to provide their SSN. Our findings have implications for studies involving sensitive questions as well as privacy and confidentiality issues.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	348-362
Number of pages	15
Journal	Field Methods
Volume	27
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X15572334
Publication status	Published - 2015 Nov 1

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities [1RC2MD004768-01]. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the 2011 meeting of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, November 19, 2011. This article was developed while the second author was at the NORC at the University of Chicago. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Center for Health Statistics.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015.

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

Anthropology

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title = "Trends and Correlates of Consenting to Provide Social Security Numbers: Longitudinal Findings from the General Social Survey (1993–2010)",

abstract = "Privacy and confidentiality are often of great concern to respondents answering sensitive questions posed by interviewers. Using the 1993–2010 General Social Survey, we examined trends in the provision of social security numbers (SSNs) and correlates of those responses. Results indicate that the rate of SSN provision has declined over the past three decades, that is, from about 60% in 1993–1994 to 20% after 2004. Although younger, unmarried, and less-educated respondents are more likely to provide SSNs, an indicator of trust toward others is not a significant predictor of SSN provision. Further, those who refuse to report their income and who receive an incentive are less likely to provide their SSN. Our findings have implications for studies involving sensitive questions as well as privacy and confidentiality issues.",

author = "Jibum Kim and Shin, {Hee Choon} and Zohn Rosen and Kang, {Jeong Han} and Jennifer Dykema and Peter Muennig",

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AU - Rosen, Zohn

AU - Kang, Jeong Han

AU - Dykema, Jennifer

AU - Muennig, Peter

N1 - Funding Information: This work was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities [1RC2MD004768-01]. A preliminary version of this article was presented at the 2011 meeting of the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research, Chicago, November 19, 2011. This article was developed while the second author was at the NORC at the University of Chicago. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Center for Health Statistics. Publisher Copyright: © 2015, © The Author(s) 2015.

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N2 - Privacy and confidentiality are often of great concern to respondents answering sensitive questions posed by interviewers. Using the 1993–2010 General Social Survey, we examined trends in the provision of social security numbers (SSNs) and correlates of those responses. Results indicate that the rate of SSN provision has declined over the past three decades, that is, from about 60% in 1993–1994 to 20% after 2004. Although younger, unmarried, and less-educated respondents are more likely to provide SSNs, an indicator of trust toward others is not a significant predictor of SSN provision. Further, those who refuse to report their income and who receive an incentive are less likely to provide their SSN. Our findings have implications for studies involving sensitive questions as well as privacy and confidentiality issues.

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Trends and Correlates of Consenting to Provide Social Security Numbers: Longitudinal Findings from the General Social Survey (1993–2010)

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