Social Skills, Stressful Life Events, and the Development of Psychosocial Problems

This three-wave panel study sought to determine the extent to which social skills and stressful life events predict the development of psychosocial problems. At Time 1, 142 students completed a laboratory interaction and measures of social skills and depression, loneliness, and social anxiety. At Time 2 (four months later) and Time 3 (nine months later) participants again completed measures of psychosocial problems and a measure of stressful life events. Results indicated that poor social skills are causally linked, in small magnitude, to loneliness and anxiety, but less so to depression. All psychosocial problems worsened over time as a function of experiencing stressful life events. There was no evidence to suggest that social skills worsen over time as a function of experiencing depression, loneliness, or social anxiety.