Understanding the Implications of Social Desirability in Dating Violence Perpetration Research

Background:  Social desirability is a potential issue in many areas of social science research, but perhaps particularly so in areas that inquire about negative behaviors like abuse. There is sometimes conflicting information when it comes to research on gender and social desirability. Men who use aggression are less likely to report their own aggressive behaviors.  Both adult men and adolescent boys provide more socially desirable responses than their partners.  Therefore, when researching a phenomenon such as perpetration of dating abuse that is known to have gendered tendencies, social desirability should be included in analysis.

The current study was intended to focus on sense of entitlement and perpetration of dating abuse with specific inquiries into areas such as gender and race. The study included the Self-Deceptive Denial Scale (SDD) by Paulhus. While not tested as extensively as the more commonly used Marlowe-Crowne social desirability scale, the SDD takes a unique approach that measures the constructs of defensiveness and rejection of negative characteristics. In the course of using the scale as a control variable in other analyses, some interesting findings were produced.

Methods:Data for this poster comes from a cross-section survey design of students from a mid-size, private university in the northeast. The sample for this particular analysis included 534 respondents.

Social desirability was measured by the Self-Deceptive Denial Scale (SDD) and was coded using the recommended methods of the author, Paulhus.  Ultimately, a lower score indicates a more honest response, whereas a higher score means a greater denial of negative traits. Validated scales were used to measure different types of abuse (economic, emotional, physical, and sexual) and depression, and a newer scale was used to measure sense of entitlement.

Results: T-tests indicate a significant difference between men’s and women’s mean score of SDD, with men reporting more honest responses. Analysis of SDD and various scales indicated numerous significant results. The SDD was negatively correlated with all areas of abuse, meaning that people who were more honest reported higher levels of abusive behavior used against partner. Similarly, people who reported higher levels of depression also reported more honest responses. Finally, respondents who were more honest were also more likely to score on the higher end of the sense of entitlement scale.

Implications: While previous research has suggested that men more likely to provide socially desirable responses, the current study seems to contradict that. However, closer examination of the variables and relationships measured in this study provide a different context and understanding. This study looked at sense of entitlement and found that people with a higher sense of entitlement were more honest. In other words, people who felt justified in their behaviors (high sense of entitlement) were more likely to be honest about their abusive behaviors. When considering this in conjunction with findings on abuse, it seems that people who use abusive behaviors in relationships appear justified and therefore are more likely to be honest about such behaviors. Social desirability needs to be considered in any survey research examining abusive behaviors.