Theses and Dissertations

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Armstrong, Kevin J.

Committee Member

Keeley, Jared

Committee Member

McMillen, Robert

Date of Degree

5-12-2012

Original embargo terms

MSU Only Indefinitely

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Campus Access Only

Major

Psychology

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Department of Psychology

Abstract

Social desirability has been offered as an explanation for observed self-reported levels of substance use within specific populations (i.e., inpatient, court referred) and it has been identified as a possible threat to the validity of self-report prevalence studies, but it has not been tested as a variable that could be manipulated to directly affect reporting. The present study assessed the effects of a simple social desirability manipulation on self-report of substance use. Participants consisted of 389 late adolescents aged 18 to 25 who were enrolled at a large southeastern university. Results indicate that presenting a drug as socially desirable does not lead participants to report higher levels of substance use. Furthermore, participants reported that peer reports, rather than their own, were more often distorted on the present study. The results have implications for enhancing procedures for both clinicians and social scientists who survey youth about substance use.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/20610

Comments

self-report||substance use||social desirability

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