Preliminary study of a Chinese language short form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale

To evaluate the internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of a Chinese language short form (14-item) of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, data from 197 Chinese medical students were analyzed. Half (48 men, M age = 23.0 yr.; 51 women, M age = 22.0 yr.) were randomly assigned to receive standard instructions, and half (46 men, M age = 21.7 yr.; 52 women, M age = 21.5 yr.) were given mock job-selection instructions. The latter had a higher mean Social Desirability score, which demonstrates discriminant validity. Split-half reliability was .71. Five factors were identified, but confirmatory factor analysis indicated adequate fit with a 1- or 2-factor model. Despite the challenge of translation into Chinese (in this case, involving translation into Mandarin and back-translation by native speakers for examination by a native speaker of English), this short form appears to have adequate internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity.