Social skills deficits and social anxiety: psychological evaluation of students

Abstract

Social anxiety and deficits in social skills can prejudice the practice of psychology, since this profession is based on the professional relationship established between the psychologist and his patients. This study aim to evaluate students of psychology in relation to these factors. Participated in the study 69 students from two private universities in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil who answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, the IHS-Del-Prette and CASO-A30 scales. The results indicated that 23% of students present evidences of Social Phobia Disorder and 43.5% have deficits in social skills in at least one of the factors evaluated by IHS-Del-Prette, and, Self-affirmation in the expression of positive feelings and Self-affirmation and Coping with risk (F2 and F1 respectively) were the factors with more students with deficits scores. The results show that many students have difficulties and the need for greater attention by universities in the development of social skills and strategies to coping with social anxiety in these future psychologists.