Enhancing university student's mental health by reciprocating social support using social skills

Abstract

A hypothetical model is presented for improving and enhancing the mental health of university students through reciprocity of social support, which is affected by social skills. University students (96 men and 167 women) participated in the study. They completed Kikuchi's Social Skill Scale (Kikuchi, 1988), the 9-items for assessing the reciprocity of perceived support (Fukuoka, 1997), and the Diagnostic Inventory for Mental Health Pattern (Hashimoto & Tokunaga, 1999). Results indicated that the levels of social skills were negatively correlated with the reciprocity of perceived support, suggesting that the reciprocity of perceived support was well balanced among students with high social skills. Nonlinear regression analysis revealed that students' stress levels were lower and that their quality of life was higher, when there was a well balanced reciprocity of perceived support. A theoretical and hypothetical model was developed using structural equation modeling. It is suggested that this model would be useful for developing an effective approach to the improvement and enhancement of mental health in university students.