Teens and Truth-Telling: Mental Health and Well-Being Indicators of Self-Reported Dishonesty in Surveys

Surveys are essential tools in mental health research and policy making, but dishonest responses can undermine their reliability. This study examined what factors are linked to dishonest survey responses among adolescents by analyzing data from 176,966 Norwegian teenagers. Using advanced machine learning techniques, researchers achieved a high sensitivity and specificity of 79.9% with an area under the curve of 87.3% in classifying self-reported dishonest responders. The analysis revealed eight key factors related to dishonest responding: perceived stress, anxiety, school dissatisfaction, coping skills, experiences of verbal harassment, substance use, antagonistic behavior, and social well-being. Notably, factors like substance use, school dissatisfaction, and antagonistic behaviors were positively associated with dishonest responding, while anxiety, stress, coping abilities, and social well-being showed negative associations. Contrary to some expectations, the study found no evidence for links between dishonest responses and factors such as socioeconomic status, depression, loneliness, or alcohol use. The findings suggest that dishonest survey responses among adolescents are primarily connected to poor individual and social well-being, difficulty coping with challenges, and problematic externalizing behaviors. This understanding can help researchers better design and interpret surveys targeting adolescent populations.