A Socio-Ecological Context Moderates the Association between Communication Skills and Friendship Satisfaction: Possible Role of Relational Mobility
Year: 2023
Type: report
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Good communication skills facilitate successful interpersonal relationships. However, the specific communication skills (encoding and decoding) required for establishing friendships can vary depending on aspects of the social context. We conducted a two-wave longitudinal study in Japan to investigate the adaptive value of communication skills in different socio-ecological contexts (i.e., different stages of university life). New college students are immersed in a high-level relational mobility environment, where they have a greater range of options for forming new relationships and leaving old ones. Conversely, students beyond their second-year experience less relational mobility. Cross-lagged analyses indicated a positive association between decoding skill and friendship satisfaction 3 months later for senior students, who are likely to be in an environment characterised by low relational mobility. However, for first-year students in a high relational mobility environment, the association was negative, supporting our hypothesis. Conversely, encoding skill did not demonstrate an association with satisfaction 3 months later. However, it was positively associated with satisfaction at each time point. Another cross-lagged analysis revealed that satisfying relationships help improve encoding skills. We further explore the socio-ecological aspects related to the adaptive value of communication skills.
Authors: Ken, Fujiwara, Kosuke, Takemura
Institutions: National Chung Cheng University, Shiga University
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7208250409