Deficits In Interpersonal Skills Research Articles

Interpersonal functioning deficits: temporary or stable characteristics of depressed individuals?

Background: Interpersonal skill deficits are associated with depression; however, the nature of the relationship is not clear. This study examined whether interpersonal skill deficits are a temporary symptom of depression or a stable characteristic of depression-prone individuals, in a large adult general population sample ( N=4749). Methods: Interpersonal functioning (IF) was compared among never depressed individuals and three groups of individuals with a history of depression: current depressives, recently remitted, and remitted depressives. Results: State effects of depression were clearly observed and a strong association between IF difficulties and current depression was found. Individuals with an early onset of depression showed some indication of an ‘interpersonal scar’; but, in general, we did not find evidence that repeated depression ‘scarred’ the individual. Limitations: The cross-sectional methodology limited our ability to examine whether interpersonal deficits were more the result of a depressive episode or were present beforehand. In addition, it would have been more informative to follow participants over the course of several months in order to examine the relation between depression and interpersonal functioning deficits as it unfolded longitudinally. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that interpersonal functioning deficits are in some regards a stable feature among people with a history of depression; however, they possess temporary features as well. Depression may scar interpersonal functioning, but only if it occurs early in life.

Dialectical behavior therapy--family skills training.

Over the past three decades, family interventions have become important components of treatment for a number of psychiatric disorders. To date, however, there has been no family treatment designed specifically for borderline personality disorder patients and their relatives. This article describes one short-term family intervention called Dialectical Behavior Therapy-Family Skills Training. Based on Linehan's Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), borderline patients' behavioral patterns are thought to result from a lifelong transaction between emotional vulnerability and invalidating features of the social and familial environment. Individual DBT focuses on reducing individual emotion dysregulation and vulnerability and enhancing individual stability. The complementary family interventions proposed in this article aim to: 1) provide all family members an understanding of borderline behavioral patterns in a clear, nonjudgmental way; 2) enhance the contributions of all family members to a mutually validating environment; and 3) address all family members' emotion regulation and interpersonal skills deficits.

Global, behavioral and self ratings of interpersonal skills among adult children of alcoholic, divorced and control parents.

The goal of this study is to evaluate interpersonal skills and the relationships among interpersonal skills in a nonclinical sample of adult children of alcoholic, divorced and control parents using a multimethod assessment strategy. Subjects were prescreened to rule out parental psychopathology and maternal alcoholism. Subjects (N = 238, 50% male, 86% white) interacted with a same- or opposite-sex confederate in a series of videotaped roleplays, which were either unstructured or structured via discussion topics and acquaintance instructions. The videotapes were coded for (1) global or general impression ratings of subject and (2) four behavioral components of interpersonal skill: talk, gaze, smile and self-manipulation. Subjects also rated their own skills and anxiety during the roleplays. Male and female children of alcoholics were judged to be more anxious when interacting with an opposite-sex partner than with a same-sex partner. Children of divorce and controls were not influenced by the gender of their interaction partner. Children of alcoholics were also judged to be less socially skilled then children of divorce. There was some suggestion that children of alcoholics and divorce may not accurately perceive their own level of skill. The findings provide some support for interpersonal skills deficits among adult children of alcoholics, although the deficits were not pervasive or consistent across methods. Limitations of the findings and the overall study were discussed.

Psychological Interventions for the Suicidal Adolescent

Acute and chronic styles of suicidal behaviors require different psychotherapeutic approaches--the former needs a supportive-cognitive-focused approach, the latter (chronic or characterological) style needs an expressive insight-oriented psychotherapy with supportive elements to address the adolescent's developmental requirements for structure within the sessions. The psychotherapist needs to be appraised of the epidemiological, dynamic factors as well as the sources of external support the patient can count upon. It is interesting to note that psychodynamic factors alone or psychopathology alone are not sufficient to estimate the ebb and flow of the suicidal risk. A combination of all these factors must be taken into account in estimating suicidal risk at any point in treatment. It is advisable that an independent clinician's consultation be sought during treatment in the case of suicidal attempts as the therapist can easily overestimate or underestimate suicidal risks. Individual treatment requires family intervention from counseling to therapy. Particular problems addressed in the paper are countertransference reactions created by the suicidal behavior in the clinician such as rejection and withdrawal. The psychotherapy should address the resolution of aggressive, envious introjected images, issues of omnipotent control and interpersonal skills deficits. To transform suicidal behavior into reenactment of the aggression within the relationship to the therapist is the main immediate goal. A critical caveat; a patient who lies by commission or omission represents an obstacle for individual therapy on an outpatient basis as he will disguise his suicidal intentions and plans, excluding them from the therapeutic process.

Problem-solving deficits in suicidal patients: Trait vulnerability or state phenomenon?

A diathesis-stress model has been proposed (Schotte & Clum, 1982, 1987), in which deficits in interpersonal problem-solving skills are said to predispose individuals under chronic stress to depression, hopelessness, and suicide ideation. The present study examined the stability of interpersonal problem-solving skills in a short-term, longitudinal study of hospitalized suicide ideators (N = 36). The Ss displayed marked changes in depressive symptoms, state anxiety, hopelessness, and suicide intent over time, and these improvements were associated with improvements in interpersonal problem-solving skills. It is concluded that interpersonal problem-solving deficits may be a concomitant, rather than a cause, of depression, hopelessness, and suicide intent.

The type A behavior pattern, hostility, and interpersonal skill.

The present study assessed the anger expression and general conversational skill of Type As and Bs in role-play scenes reflecting typical natural environment situations. In addition, the study assessed skill differences among hostile and nonhostile subgroups of Type As and Bs. Observers and confederates rated subjects' interpersonal skill during challenging and nonchallenging interactions. Type As expressed anger less appropriately than Bs in challenging situations, but displayed greater overall social skill and made significantly more interesting conversational partners than Type Bs across conditions. In general, nonhostile Type As and Bs received better skill ratings than the hostile groups. The relationship of interpersonal skill to physical health, the utility of classifications derived from current Type A assessment methods, and the potential efficacy of treatments targeting interpersonal skill deficits such as those apparent here are discussed.

Deficits in facial-affect recognition and schizophrenia.

It has been widely demonstrated that schizophrenic patients show a broad range of deficits in interpersonal skills. Recently, considerable attention has been focused on the ability of these patients to decode affective cues. This article reviews findings about facial-affect recognition in schizophrenia. While the literature on this topic is extensive, many investigations have suffered from significant methodological shortcomings. Strategies to resolve these shortcomings are presented. Possible relationships between problems of affect recognition and other symptoms that characterize schizophrenia are discussed. Neurological mechanisms of facial-affect recognition are reviewed and related to data on lateralized neurological impairment in schizophrenia. Suggestions for future research emphasize careful consideration of affect-recognition deficits in relation to other parameters of schizophrenia.

Characteristics of Preschool Children Diagnosed as Having an Atypical Pervasive Developmental Disorder

Pediatricians and child psychiatrists encounter preschool children who are not autistic, but who have early deficits in both interpersonal and communication skills. Confusion exists over their diagnosis. Eighteen atypical children currently diagnosed as having an atypical pervasive developmental disorder are described. Areas discussed are social relatedness, speech and language, mental status, cognition, behavior, perception, social background, and medical/neurological status. These children constitute a distinct and frequently seen group within the spectrum of pervasive developmental disorders. Their characteristics are not currently captured within a diagnostic category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, Third Edition (DSM-III), of the American Psychiatric Association. A revision of DSM-III, DSM-III-R, is currently being prepared. These children may not be captured within a diagnostic category in DSM-III-R. The distinguishing characteristics are onset before the age of three, language delay with disordered communication, social relationships characterized by variable relatedness, ritualistic or manneristic behaviors, the likelihood of hyperactivity and/or a short attention span, affective disturbances, excessive anxiety, and a thinking disorder or perseverative behaviors.

A Critical Review of Social Skills Research with Behaviorally Disordered Students

Deficits in social skills are a distinguishing characteristic of behaviorally disordered individuals. There is an established relationship between deficits in interpersonal skills and long term adjustment difficulties, such as juvenile delinquency, bad conduct discharges from the military, and psychiatric hospitalization. In addition, employers consider social competencies to be more important than specific occupational skills. Thus, the development of social competence is important for behaviorally disordered individuals. Over the last 5 years numerous studies have evaluated social skill enhancement strategies. The present review was conducted to evaluate this research. The results indicate that: (a) research has failed to build a comprehensive body of knowledge due to the absence of a conceptual base; (b) training priorities have not been matched to learner needs or characteristics; (c) the social significance of program effects has generally been ignored; (d) independent and dependent variables have not been evaluated and applied with equal precision; (e) investigators often fail to evaluate the generality of effects to other settings, responses, and time; and finally (f) research has not shown that community adjustment can be enhanced through training.

A behavioral-analytic model for assessing social skills in blind adolescents

A behavioral-analytic assessment approach was conducted to identify social skill deficits in visually-handicapped adolescents. The investigation was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, a role-play test of social skill relevant to visually-handicapped persons was derived empirically using separate samples of professional and paraprofessional staff. Also, situation-specific criteria for evaluating levels of social skill were established. The second phase involved validation of the role-play test by determining the extent to which it discriminated visually-handicapped from nonhandicapped participants. Further, the first empirical data concerning the specific nature of interpersonal skill deficits in the blind were obtained in this part of the study. Results indicated that blind Ss showed deficiencies in selected verbal and nonverbal social skill components. However, their performance was not uniformly deficient. Indeed, visually-handicapped clients received higher ratings on a global skill measure. Overall, these findings support the notion that many blind individuals experience problems in social adaptation and underscore the need for further research in this area.

Problem-solving deficits in depressed children, adolescents, and adults

Recent research has emphasized the importance of interpersonal problems with depression. It has been hypothesized that deficits in interpersonal problem-solving skills may account for many of these problems. Three studies that examined the relationship between problem-solving skills and depression are reported. Problem-solving skills among children, adolescents, and adults were assessed by the Means-Ends Problem Solving Test. Contrary to prediction, there were no differences in problem-solving skills between depressed and nondepressed groups; these findings were consistent across each age group. The external validity of such paper-and-pencil measures of problem solving is questioned; it is suggested that future research focus on how depressed individuals solve real-life problems.

Interpersonal variables in behavioural group therapy

Attraction towards the group as a whole and to male and female co-leaders was self-rated after each of 10 sessions of behavioural group therapy. Fifty-one patients with specific interpersonal skills deficits completed the course after being randomly assigned to nine small groups employing either (a) role rehearsal and modelling, or (b) guided discussion. Higher levels of attraction were obtained in role-rehearsal groups. This was associated with improved self-esteem and a reduction of specific social fears at the end of treatment. Drop-outs showed less attraction and tended to leave the groups at critical stages in their development. The findings suggest that greater attention to specific interpersonal variables may enhance the effectiveness of group therapies.

Teaching assertive and commendatory social skills to an interpersonally‐deficient retarded adolescent

Abstract A 16‐year‐old mildly retarded adolescent was referred for treatment of interpersonal skills deficits, which involved her inability to handle peers’ derogatory comments and her inability to respond to other peers’ friendly, positive approaches. A behavioral social skills training procedure, consisting of self‐observation, coaching and behavior rehearsal, was used to teach both refusal assertive skills and commendatory prosocial behavior during role‐plays of situations which had been troublesome for her. A multiple baseline single subject design across behavioral components was used to evaluate the effectiveness of training. Improvement of specific social skills was evident in videotaped role‐plays with a male partner when training was introduced; generalization to untrained scenes with a female partner was partially obtained and school reports provided additional evidence of interpersonal enhancement. The utility of behavioral skill training approaches for remediating the social deficits of retard...