Objective      To research the difference of young soldiers’ social desirability from the demographic data

and explore the effect of the social desirability on the emotional state and mental health.       Methods      Marlowe-Crowne social desirability (MCSD)

symptom checklist-90 (SCL-90)

state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI)

center for epidemiologic studies depression scale (CES-D)

anxiety sensitivity index Ⅲ (ASI-3) and SMMU military stress reactional anxiety prediction scale (SMMU-A) were tested in the army forces and armed police forces in Beijing

and 811 questionnaires were collected effectively.       Results      The young soldiers’ social desirability had no statistically significant differences in the gender

service length

service (armed police/army)

job title (soldiers/officers/cadres) and native place (P0.05). However

the only-child and education degree had significant differences (F=8.561

P=0.004; F=3.354

P=0.035)

and the soldiers with education degree of high school or technical secondary school had higher social desirability than the ones with college education degree or above (LSD-t=1.086

P=0.021). The soldiers with low social desirability scored higher than the ones with high social desirability in the CESD

STAI

SMMU-A and ASI scale (P0.001). The solders with low social desirability also scored higher than the ones with high social desirability in the total scores and single-item scores of SCL-90 (P0.001). Social desirability was significantly associated with the emotional state and mental health (P0.01).        Conclusion      The  soldiers with low education degree and the non-only-child solders rely more on the social desirability than the ones with high education degree and the only-child ones. The solders with high social desirability have better emotional state and mental health.