Experimental Studies of the Effects of Social Skills Training on Reducing Loneliness

1997 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 08610112
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 教育・社会系心理学
• Research Institution: Tokyo Gakugei University
• Principal Investigator: AIKAWA Atsushi Tokyo Gakugei University, Department of Psychology, Associate Professor, 教育学部, 助教授 (10159254)
• Project Period (FY): 1996 – 1997
• Keywords: loneliness / social skills training / non-verbal vommunication / role play / UCLA loneliness scale / lens-mapping model

Research Abstract

Based on the assumption that loneliness is linked with social skills deficits, the first study examined the effects of social skills training on reducing loneliness. From a total of 480 femal university students (19-22 years of age), the 18 subjects, who were high-lonely persons, were randomly assigned to a social skills training (SST) group or a no training control (NTC) group. Subjects in the SST group (n=9) received eight 40-minute training sessions over a 4-week period individually. Althoug subjects in the NTC group (n=9) participated the same 1st and 8th session as subjects in the SST group did, they performed six kinds of tasks unrelated social skills from 2nd session to 7th session. All subjests wew asked to complete the UCLA loneliness scale, which was a self-reported questionnaire designed to measure loneliness. Moreover, they were presented hypothetical interpersonal situations and were asked to act out while being videotape recorded. Three trained scorers observed and rated the videotapes while being blind to the subject treatment or control group condition. As the second study, the follow-up test was completed 6 months later. SST group was found to be significantly superior to NTC group on increasing social skills and reducing the self-reported loneliness at posttest but not at follow-up. Since this result suggested that the basic and empirical data on the interpersonal behavior of lonely persons were necessary to SST of reducing loneliness, verbal and non-verbal behavior of lonely persons at the interpersonal setting were videotape recorded as the third study. These videotapes were analyzed from the view point of the lens-mapping approach. The result indicated that lonely persons seldom asked questions to others and showed ill-humored expressions frequently. This result suggest that these behaviors should be treated as target behavior of SST for lonely persons.