TITLE:
The Influence of Social Desirability on Self-Reported Sexual Behavior in HIV Survey in Rural Ethiopia
AUTHORS:
Alexander Vu, Kiemanh Pham, Nhan Tran, Saifuddin Ahmed
KEYWORDS:
Social Desirability Bias; Self-Reported Sexual Behaviors; HIV Surveys
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of AIDS,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
11,
2013
ABSTRACT: Objective: It is in order to examine associations between
social desirability (SD) and self-reports of abstinence among youths in rural
Ethiopia. Methods: Youths of ages 15-24
(114 participants) were administered questionnaire to assess HIV knowledge and
primary abstinence and a modified Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale to
assess SD bias. The relationships between SD groups (dichotomized into high and
low) and abstinence by various characteristics were assessed by using Fisher’s exact p-values. Results: The odds of individuals reporting abstinence were 13.2 times greater in the high SD group compared to the low SD group
(p-value 0.002) when adjusted for education, gender, age group, and HIV
knowledge. The differences in abstinence between the high and low SD score
groups were also examined for selected variables. Conclusions: Individuals who exhibited more SD bias were more
likely to report primary abstinence. SD bias should be considered when
conducting self-reported surveys to measure the effectiveness of HIV prevention programs.