Social Skills, Social Support, and Psychological Distress: A Test of the Social Skills Deficit Vulnerability Model

Abstract

The social skills deficit vulnerability model predicts that poor social skills minimize opportunities to acquire social support, in turn, leading to the proliferation of psychological distress. This prediction was tested in a 2-wave longitudinal study that assessed 211 emerging adults at Time 1 (T1), with a 70% response rate 1 year later at Time 2 (T2). The results indicated that, after controlling for psychological distress at T1, social skills at T1 had an indirect effect on lower psychological distress at T2, through higher social support. Thus, people with poor social skills may be vulnerable to the development of psychological distress because they have less access the protective effects of social support.

Social Skills Inventory for Caregivers of Elderly Family Members (SSI-CE): Relations with Indicators of Psycholgical Wellbeing

“…These fi ndings are consistent with results reported in previous studies, suggesting that a better developed array of social skills (especially with respect to communicating positive emotions, represented in the Emotional Expressiveness factor) correlates negatively with perceptions of burden due to an unfavorable Impact on the Relationship, and positively with Positive Interactions between caregivers and their elderly relative (Barham et al, 2015;Pinto & Barham, 2014;Segrin et al, 2016). Conceptually, this confi rms our expectations, as one would presume that those who care for an elderly relative and who have good social skills would be more capable of maintaining positive relationships with the people around them.…”

“…The tasks that arise in the context of caring for an elderly relative can lead caregivers to have diffi culties in maintaining contact with those who are part of their social support group, which increases the diffi culty of requesting and obtaining help (Pinto, Barham, & Albuquerque, 2013;Pinto et al, 2016;Segrin, McNelis, & Swiatkowski, 2016). Individuals who have a wide range of social skills and who are able to use these skills in their everyday lives, however, will usually talk with all those involved in the situation to fi nd ways to deal with demands, so as to take everyone's needs into account, including the needs of the elderly person, other relatives, and the caregivers themselves .…”

“…Individuals who have a wide range of social skills and who are able to use these skills in their everyday lives, however, will usually talk with all those involved in the situation to fi nd ways to deal with demands, so as to take everyone's needs into account, including the needs of the elderly person, other relatives, and the caregivers themselves . Segrin et al (2016) proposed a model of psychosocial vulnerability that stems from social skills defi cits. According to these researchers, individuals with fewer social skills are more vulnerable to psychological distress, given that they receive less social support and thus have little benefi t of its protective effects.…”

“…Those who can use these skills in a socially profi cient manner are able to gain and maintain the participation and support of individuals who belong to their informal and formal social circles, increasing the amount of help they receive (Del Prette & Del Prette, 2013;Segrin et al, 2016). Successfully using these abilities improves their resilience and effectiveness as caregivers (Pinto & Barham, 2014;Pinto et al, 2016, Segrin et al, 2016. As such, having the ability to interact with others in a socially profi cient manner while caring for a dependent elderly person can be an essential factor in minimizing caregivers' dayto-day problems.…”

“…Based on the premise that social skills are learned, this implies that people can overcome social skills defi cits, for example, if they receive social skills training, by participating in situations where the conditions for learning social skills are restructured (Barham et al, 2015;Del Prette & Del Prette, 2001Segrin et al, 2016;Robinson, 1988Robinson, , 1990Robinson & Yates, 1994). Studies conducted with various target populations have shown that people who have a broader range of social skills tend to report better quality of life, higher perceptions of social support, and fewer depressive symptoms (Braz, Del Prette, & Del Prette, 2011;Carneiro, Falcone, Clark, Del Prette, & Del Prette, 2007).…”