Social skills in adolescence: psychopathology and sociodemographic variables

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social skills, psychopathology and sociodemographic characteristics among adolescents. Participants were 50 adolescents from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil (30 girls and 20 boys, Mage=14 years, SD=1.61) who attended either a public or a private school. The participants answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the social skills Inventory for Adolescents Del-Prette (frequency and difficulty) and, to assess symptoms of psychopathology, the Self Report Questionnaire 20. Results indicated that there were no differences in the frequency of the social skills investigated with regard to genders, age, type of school attended, and the indication of psychopathology. However, the difficulty score reported on the use of social skills was related with psychopathology. This relationship was further moderated by the type of school. Thus, sociodemographic variables and personal characteristics (such as psychopathology) must be considered in social skills studies.