Sibling survival histories are a major source of adult mortality estimates in countries with incomplete death registration. We evaluate age and date reporting errors in sibling histories collected during a validation study in the Niakhar Health and Demographic Surveillance System (Senegal). Participants were randomly assigned to either the Demographic and Health Survey questionnaire or a questionnaire incorporating an event history calendar, recall cues, and increased probing strategies. We linked 60–62 per cent of survey reports of siblings to the reference database using manual and probabilistic approaches. Both questionnaires showed high sensitivity (>96 per cent) and specificity (>97 per cent) in recording siblings’ vital status. Respondents underestimated the age of living siblings, and age at and time since death of deceased siblings. These reporting errors introduced downward biases in mortality estimates. The revised questionnaire improved reporting of age of living siblings but not of age at or timing of deaths.

在死亡登记不完整的国家，兄弟姐妹的生存史是成人死亡率估计的主要来源。我们评估在 Niakhar 健康和人口监测系统（塞内加尔）的验证研究期间收集的兄弟姐妹历史中的年龄和日期报告错误。参与者被随机分配到人口和健康调查问卷或包含事件历史日历、回忆线索和增加探测策略的问卷。我们使用手动和概率方法将 60-62% 的兄弟姐妹调查报告与参考数据库联系起来。两份问卷在记录兄弟姐妹的生命状态方面都显示出高敏感性（>96%）和特异性（>97%）。受访者低估了在世兄弟姐妹的年龄，以及已故兄弟姐妹去世后的年龄和时间。这些报告错误在死亡率估计中引入了向下偏差。修订后的问卷改善了对在世兄弟姐妹年龄的报告，但没有改善对死亡年龄或死亡时间的报告。