Consistency between survey and interview data concerning pregnancy wantedness in the Philippines

Through a comparison of survey and in-depth interview data reported by a sm all sample of Filipino women and men, standard survey questions and the sta ndard conceptualizations of pregnancy wantedness are assessed to determine whether they capture respondents' attitudes toward pregnancies and their ti ming in two areas in the Philippines. The study reveals that more than two- thirds of respondents were completely consistent in their survey and interv iew responses. Consistency was higher for women than for men, and it improv ed when a dichotomous measure (intended/unintended) was used rather than a more detailed variable that distinguished between intended, mistimed, and u nwanted pregnancies. To the extent that the two data sources disagree, the interview transcripts suggest two possible reasons for inconsistent reports : deference to a spouse's perceived attitude or the respondent's ambivalenc e toward or ready acceptance of an unintended pregnancy.