Social skill deficits and depression in junior high school girls

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the effect that social skill deficits had on depression in junior high school girls. Social skills and symptoms of depression were measured in a survey of 775 junior high school girls. About six weeks later, symptoms of depression were measured again, along with occurrence of Stressors during the interval. It was found that social skill deficits were significantly associated with depression. A hierarchical regression analysis indicated that after partialling out the influence of first depression scores, social skill scores contributed significantly to the prediction of post-interval depression scores. In addition, we found an interaction effect of social skill and Stressor scores on post-interval depression, and girls with social skill deficits became more depressed when they experienced Stressors.