The Role of Socially Desirable Responses in the Assessment of Well-Being among Nigerian University Students

Abstract

There is a growing research interest in psychosocial correlates of happiness in the field of positive psychology. However, research examining reported levels of happiness in the Nigerian context shows contradictory findings. The present study therefore examined whether socially desirable responding could account for such conflicting reports. Three hundred and fifty-three undergraduate students (194 males and 159 females) were conveniently drawn from University of Nigeria, Nsukka. The respondents were aged 17 to 35years (M_age = 22.50; SD = 3.18). They completed study measures in addition to relevant demographic information. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to analyse the data. The results showed that higher incidence of socially desirable responses was positively related to scores on the subjective happiness scale (t = 6.70, p < .001), the positive affect dimensions of the I-PANAS-SF (t = 4.63, p <.001), and SPANE (t = 4.63, p < .001), while, higher incidence of socially desirable responses was negatively related to the negative affect dimensions of the I-PANAS-SF (t = -3.60, p < .001), and SPANE (t = -2.29, p < .01), but was not significantly related to the Satisfaction with Life scale. Therefore, we recommend that the susceptibility of affective evaluations of one’s life to inaccurate reports should be taken into consideration prior to drawing conclusions from well-being indicators particularly in a Nigerian sample.