Aim: Our work targeted the degree of social desirable answers among two different contingents with the objective of providing useful statistically insight about how this variable may be responsible for the differences among both groups. With the new evidence found in this study we hope to provide useful insight to help improving the selection process of the applicants.
Introduction: The relation between social desirability and medical school applicants may be of interest when analyzing the results of questionnaires in medical school admission. Our study analyzes the difference in social desirability between graduates admitted to a medical school, and students enrolling in the school by the regular admission process.
Methods: We used a resumed version of the Marlow-Crowne Desirability Scale to compare the social desirability between students from the regular and graduate admission. After collecting 181 questionnaires between 2005 and 2006, all the data was analyzed using R software. The sample was described by performing t-test between regular and graduate admission in the following variables: gender, marital status, childbearing, working status, previous residence and age.
Results: Statistically significant differences were found in marital and working status as well as within. The main outcome – social desirability – was also statistically different among both groups, indicating that students with graduate admission had given more desirable answers. A analysis of subgroups according to martial and working status was made, being the results also significant.
Conclusion: Our study suggests that graduate admission students have more social desirability than regular students. However, more research is needed in order to find in what way other factors, as age or working status, for example, might have influenced these results.
Acknowledgements: Milton Severo.