Social Skills, Friendship and Happiness: A Cross-Cultural Investigation

Abstract

The present study investigated the associations between social skills, friendship quality, and happiness, and tested a mediational model positing that friendship quality would mediate the relationship between social skills and happiness among American and Malaysian college students. Although American students reported significantly higher levels of psychosocial well-being than Malaysian students, the study variables were positively associated with each other in both cultures. More importantly, findings supported the proposed model in both groups. Results suggest that part of the reason why social skills are associated with positive psychological well-being is because of friendship experiences. Overall, the findings of the present study reinforce, extend and cross-culturally generalize the presumed benefits of social skills in positive well-being elaborated by Segrin and Taylor (2007). The authors also provided suggestions for future research.

Predictor variables of happiness and its connection with risk and protective factors for health

“…Research with adolescents and university students has underlined that happiness is positively related to friendship (Demir and Davidson, 2013), altruism, social skills (Demir et al, 2012), cooperation (Rigby et al, 1997), academic success, and self-esteem (Salmela-Aro and Tuominen-Soini, 2010; Sato and Yuki, 2014). Recent studies (Cheung et al, 2014) also suggest that people with higher self-control are happier possibly because they are: (1) more promotion-focused on acquiring positive gains thereby facilitating more approach-oriented behaviors, and (2) less prevention-focused on avoiding losses thereby reducing avoidance-oriented behaviors.…”

The effect of quality of school life on sense of happiness: A study on University students

“…In the same study, it is also concluded that males with a low level of education who live and work in cities, and who are in lower income groups have a mid-upper happiness level. In another study which is carried out on happiness with participants from different cultures, it has been indicated that qualities of friendship and social skills of people have positive relation with happiness (Demir et al, 2012). Hills and Argyle (1998) came to the conclusion that happiness, music and religional experiences have a relation among them.…”

The Mediation of Interpersonal Competence in the Relationship between Parent and Peer Attachment and Subjective Well-Being in Adolescence

“…Doyum sağlayıcı ilişkiler kurabilmek için bireylerin nerede, nasıl davranacağını bilmesi etkili, uygun ve içinde bulunduğu bağlamı dikkate alan kişilerarası becerilere sahip olması önem kazanmaktadır. Birçok araştırmada, sosyal yetkinlik ile öznel iyi oluş (Eken, 2010), arkadaşlık niteliği, sosyal beceri ve mutluluk (Demir, Jaafar, Bilyk ve Ariff, 2012) sosyal beceri ve psikolojik öznel iyi oluş (Segrin ve Taylor, 2007), öznel iyi oluş ile kendini açma (Şahin, 2011), öz duyarlılık, çatışma çözme ve öznel iyi oluş (Yarnell ve Neff, 2013), çatışma çözme ve psikolojik uyum (Tucker, McHale ve Crouter, 2003), duygusal destek ve öznel iyi oluş (Uchida, Kitayama, Mesquita, Reyes ve Morling, 2008) anlamlı olarak ilişkili görülmektedir.…”