Title:
Social skills and wellbeing for emerging adults: the mediating role of friendship quality
Author:
Benjamin G. Steinberg
Thesis Advisor:
Rachel L. Grover
Committee Member:
Matthew W. Kirkhart
Committee Member:
Amanda M. Thomas
Committee Member:
Carolyn M. Barry
Degree Granting Institution:
Loyola University Maryland--College of Arts and Sciences
Place:
Baltimore (Md.)
Publisher:
Loyola University Maryland
Date Created:
2017
Type of Resource:
text
Genre:
thesis
Language:
eng
Format:
application/pdf
Physical Form:
electronic
Digital Source:
born digital
Abstract:
There is currently a paucity of research investigating the importance and implications of friendships in emerging adulthood (the time period from 18 to 29). Contemporary research suggests that social skills are related to the quality of friendships, and that social skills are also related to well-being outcomes (Burhmester, Furman, Wittenberg, and Reis, 1988; Demir and Ozdemir, 2010). Because of these findings, the present study examined the relations among social skills, friendship quality, and wellbeing of college students, positing that social skills may be related to wellbeing, and that friendship quality may mediate that relation. Undergraduates (N = 166) from a medium-sized, private, Roman Catholic, comprehensive university in Baltimore, Maryland completed the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ-R; Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, and Reis, 1988), the Network of Relationships Inventory (NRI-RQV; Furman and Buhrmester, 1985), and the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen, and Griffith, 1985). A series of multiple regression analyses were conducted to test whether friendship quality (both positive and negative features) mediated the relation between social skills and wellbeing. Results revealed that the positive features of friendship quality mediated this relation, but the negative features did not. The same results were confirmed when also controlling for gender. Implications of these findings were discussed.
Subject:
Electronic dissertations
Degree:
Master of Science
Level:
Master
Discipline:
Counseling Psychology
Restrictions on Access:
Author has given permission to make this work available online.
Use and Reproduction:
The authors of theses and dissertations are the copyright owners. Loyola Notre Dame Library has their permission to store and provide access to these works. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Permission is required to use materials for which Loyola Notre Dame Library, Loyola University Maryland, or Notre Dame of Maryland University hold copyright. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift of purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Identifier:
SteinbergBG-17
