Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Impaired Social Skills as a Key Component of Clinical Depression: Associations with Severity of Illness, Self-Esteem, Family Functional Health Satisfaction, and Personality Features

Version 1 : Received: 6 May 2020 / Approved: 7 May 2020 / Online: 7 May 2020 (12:37:06 CEST)

How to cite: Kurimoto, P.; Lueboonthavatchai, P.; Maes, M. Impaired Social Skills as a Key Component of Clinical Depression: Associations with Severity of Illness, Self-Esteem, Family Functional Health Satisfaction, and Personality Features. Preprints 2020, 2020050122. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202005.0122.v1 Kurimoto, P.; Lueboonthavatchai, P.; Maes, M. Impaired Social Skills as a Key Component of Clinical Depression: Associations with Severity of Illness, Self-Esteem, Family Functional Health Satisfaction, and Personality Features. Preprints 2020, 2020050122. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202005.0122.v1

Abstract

Background: Social skills deficits are present in 43.3% of major depressed patients and significantly impact health-related quality of life. However, studies concerning social deficits as state-dependent markers of depression are limited. Objective: To delineate the effects of severity of depression, personality characteristics, family support satisfaction and self-esteem on social skills in clinical depression. Methods: We recruited 150 patients with major depressive disorder or persistent depressive disorder and assessed 1) Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), 2) Social Skill Inventory (SSI), 3) Family Adaptation, Partnership, Growth, Affection, Resolve (APGAR) Questionnaire 4) Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) and 5) Maudsley Personal Inventory (MPI). Results: Social skills deficits were significantly associated with female gender, age < 40 years, depression severity, introvert / neurotic personality, and lowered family support satisfaction and self-esteem. A large part of the variance (47.2%) in social skills deficits was predicted by satisfaction of family support, introvert personality, and low self-esteem. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed that a bifactorial model best fitted the data with a) a general factor loading highly on BDI-II, SSI emotional and social, APGAR, RSES, MPI_introvert and MPI_neurotic scores, and b) a single-group factor loading on both SSI, RSES, and MPI introvert scores. Conclusion: In clinical depression, social skills deficits covary with increasing severity of depression and thus constitute a state marker of depression, and independently from severity of depression covary with introvert personality features. As such, remission of social skills deficits may emerge as a novel objective for the treatment of depression and prevention of new episodes.

Keywords

social skill deficits; major depression; stress; state marker; introvert personality; family supporting satisfaction

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Neuroscience and Neurology

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