Prosocial Lying and Depressive Mood: Friendship as a Mediator Discriminating between Adjusted and Maladjusted Function

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the tendency to lie for selfish motives, interpersonal relationships, and a depressive mood, as well as the relationship between the tendency to lie for prosocial motives, interpersonal relationships, and a depressive mood. A sample of 298 university students completed an online questionnaire. Mediation analyses using interpersonal relationship as a mediator revealed that prosocial lying had positive direct and negative indirect effects on one’s depressive mood, whereas selfish lying did not have direct or indirect effects. Neither type of lying had a total effect. These results suggest that prosocial lying has protective effects on mental health by maintaining interpersonal relationships, but also detrimental effects, presumably through the stress of lying or excessive concern for others.