Interpersonal stress events, social skills, and interpersonal strategies in undergraduate students

Negative effects of interpersonal relation on mental health are considered to be critical issues in education. The purposes of the present study were to examine : (1) the relation between social skills and interpersonal stress events (interpersonal interactions as stressors);(2) the relation between interpersonal strategies (types of commitment toward others) and interpersonal stress events; and (3) the relation between interpersonal strategies and social skills. Undergraduates (105 males, 95 females) completed a questionnaire. Analyses showed that :(1) the hypothesis that social skills correlate positively with interpersonal dislocation was not supported, although the hypothesis that social skills correlate negatively with interpersonal inferiority complex was supported;(2) social skills sometimes moderated mental health directly, but the buffering hypothesis was not supported;(3) self-insight had negative effects on interpersonal stress events;and (4) the tendency to avoid developing relationships was negatively associated with social skills. Further directions for research in this area were discussed.