Comparing and predicting inconsistency on positive and negative life experiences reports: which variables matter?

• Published in: Social sciences (Basel) 2022-02, Vol.11 (2), p.1-11
• Main Authors: Azevedo, Vanessa Mourão Ferreira Sampaio, Martins, C., Maia, Ângela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Community; Education; Ethnicity; Gender; Labor force; Life events; Reliability; retrospective self-report; Self report; Social Sciences; Sociodemographics; Variables
• ISSN: 2076-0760; 2076-0760
• DOI: 10.3390/socsci11020061

Most studies about life experiences and their long-term impact have relied on retrospective assessments and cross-sectional designs. However, there are concerns about the inconsistency of reports, which have been addressed in a limited scope. This study aimed to compare differences on inconsistency between positive and negative experiences to describe potential patterns and to identify sociodemographic, experiences-related and design-related predictors of inconsistency. Adults from community ( N = 171) reported their life experiences twice, through self-report or interview. An overall trend of overreporting was found for positive and negative experiences. Additionally, inconsistency on positive experiences was higher than on negative although both variables were correlated. Regarding predictors of inconsistency, the model explained greater variance for negative experiences than for the positive ones. Nevertheless, most variables did not predict inconsistency, with few exceptions: impact for positive experiences, total of experiences for negative experiences, and time interval was marginally significant for both. Available data comparing inconsistency on positive and negative experiences as well as associated predictors are incipient. Overall, it seems that we know more about variables not involved in inconsistency than those that matter. Due to its relevancy, this issue should be further examined. This manuscript is part of a doctoral dissertation which had the support of the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), through the PhD grant with the reference SFRH/BD/6022/2011, funded by POPH-QREN-Typology 4.1-Advanced Training–reimbursed by the European Social Fund and national funds from State Budget. This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020).