SOCIAL DESIRABILITY SCALES AND THEORIES OF SUICIDE - CORRELATIONS WITH ALIENATION AND SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS

Edwards but not Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scores influence th e predictability of suicidal intent. If this effect occurs because the Edwards Scale records a substantive trait rather than a response set, then it should display predictable associations with variables that a re relevant to theories of suicide. In line with the work of Durkheim (Suicide, 1897/1951) and Baumeister (Psychological Review, 97, 90-113 1990), the present studies revealed that Edwards and Marlowe-Crowne sc ales correlated with greater social integration, healthier self-functi oning, and reduced self-consciousness. Many of these outcomes were mor e robust for the Edwards Scale, but the Edwards Scale also was more in ternally reliable. Overall, these data supported the Durkheimian concl usion that if certain forms of suicide result from society's insuffici ent influence on the individual, then social desirability scales may o perationalize society's sufficient representation within the personali ty.