Socially desirable responding in close relationships: A dual-component approach and measure

Five studies were conducted to develop and validate a brief measure of soci ally desirable responding (SDR) for use in close relationships research, th e Inventory of Desirable Responding in Relationships (IDRR). Specifically, a two-component measure of SDR was created to assess individuals' tendencie s to: (i) deceive themselves, and (ii) deceive others regarding negative as pects of their close relationship. Study 1 employed exploratory factor anal yses to isolate items that loaded on two factors, labeled Relationship Self -Deception (REL-SD) and Relationship Impression Management (REL-IM). Study 2 confirmed the factor structure obtained in Study 1 and provided evidence for a two-factor versus one-factor model of relationship SDR. Consistent wi th the hypotheses, Study 3 demonstrated that REL-IM scores are higher when generated in a public condition relative to an anonymous condition, whereas REL-SD scores remain unaffected by this manipulation. Consistent with the literature on the role of illusions in mental health, Study 4 demonstrated that REL-SD is associated with multiple indices of relationship health. Stu dy 5 validated the scale on a sample of married adults and provided evidenc e of divergent validity. Limitations and future research directions are dis cussed.