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

基于孤独感与社交技能缺失的假设，第一项研究考察了社交技能培训对减少孤独感的影响。在480名19-22岁的女大学生中，18名高孤独者被随机分为社会技能训练组(SST)和非训练对照组(NTC)。SST组(n=9)的受试者在4周的时间里分别接受了8次40分钟的训练。虽然NTC组(n=9)与SST组的受试者参加了相同的第1和第8次训练，但从第2次训练到第7次训练，他们完成了6种与社交技能无关的任务。所有受试者都要求完成加州大学洛杉矶分校的孤独量表，这是一份自我报告的问卷，旨在测量孤独感。此外，研究人员向他们展示了假设的人际情境，并要求他们一边表演，一边录制录像带。三名训练有素的评分员观察并评分录像带，同时对受试者的治疗或对照组的情况视而不见。作为第二项研究，随访测试在6个月后完成。SST组在提高社交技能和降低自述孤独感方面显著优于NTC组，但在随访期无显著差异。由于这一结果表明，孤独者人际行为的基础和经验数据对于减少孤独感的SST是必要的，因此将孤独者在人际环境中的言语和非言语行为记录下来作为第三项研究。这些录像带是从镜头映射法的角度进行分析的。结果表明，孤独者很少向他人提问，且经常表现出不幽默的表情。这一结果表明，这些行为应被视为孤独者的SST目标行为。

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.