The Role of Social Desirability in Self-Reported Condom Use Attitudes and Intentions

Abstract

This paper reports the findings from two studies which examined the tendency of sexually-active college students to provide socially desirable (i.e., positively biased) responses to questions concerning condom use. The first study found that while female attitudes toward condom use and intentions to use a condom were not associated with social desirability, such attitudes and intentions were significantly related to two measures of impression management for males. The second study attempted to identify conditions under which the relationship between condom use responses and impression management might be attenuated. Specifically, we tested whether participants would report more negative attitudes toward using condoms, and weaker behavioral intentions, when questionnaire instructions emphasized (1) participant anonymity, (2) the scientific importance of obtaining accurate responses, or (3) a combination of these two instructional sets. Results suggest that, compared to a no-instruction control group, self-reported male attitude toward and intention regarding condom use become more negative when anonymity is stressed. Female responses were unaffected by any of the instruction sets compared to the control group. The two studies provide converging evidence that college males positively bias their responses to questions regarding condom use, and suggest the need for further research on the attenuation of such misrepresentation.