Cogniti ve Th erapy and Research , Vo l. 23, No. 6, 1999, p p.

587-604

Interperson al Sensitivity and Social Pro blem -Solving: Relations with A cadem ic and Social Self-Esteem , D epressive Sym ptom s, an d A cadem ic Performan ce
R an di E . McCab e ,1,2 K irk R . B lan kste in ,1,2 an d Je nnife r S. Mills 1

This study in vestigated the relatio n betw een in terpersonal sensitivity an d social problem -sol vin g as pred ictors of three outcom es in a college populatio n (N 5 207): selfesteem, depressi ve sym ptom s, an d acad em ic perfo rm an ce. Consisten t w ith predictio ns, in terpersonal sen sitivity w as related to problem -sol vin g in particu lar, negati ve problem orientatio n. B oth in terpersonal sensiti vity an d social problem -solvin g w ere signi can t predictors of self-esteem an d depressive sym pto m s, each accountin g for uniq ue varian ce. Interpersonal sensiti vity w as a sign i can t predictor of acad em ic perform an ce, for both m ales an d females. Ho we ver, in fem ales, social problem sol vin g w as not related to acad emic perfo rm an ce. In m ales, negati ve problem orientatio n an d dysfu nctional prob lem -solvin g styles w ere im portan t asp ects of problem sol vin g related to acad emic perform an ce. The results are discu ssed in terms of the id enti catio n of ``at risk co llege stud ents.
K E Y WOR D S: interpe rsonal se nsitivity; social problem-solving; self-este em; depression; academic performance.

There is a growing body of re se arch examining certain personality dispositions , or ways of thinking and be having, as vulne rability factors for de pression. For e xam ple, inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity (e .g., B oyce , Hickie , & Parke r, 1991; B oyce & Parke r, 1989) and social proble m-solving (se e Nezu, 1987; Nezu & D Z urilla, 1989) have be en ide nti e d as pe rsonality and cognitive -behavioral risk factors for depre ssion. E xam ination of the link be twe en pe rsonality characte ristics, cognitive -be havioral appraisals and skills, and psychologic al adjustm e nt (e .g., de pre ssion) is important, as ndings may have implications for both psychologic al the ory and the tre atme nt and preve ntion of psychologic al proble ms, through the ide nti cation of ``at-risk individuals.
1 2

Departme nt of Psychology, Unive rsity of Toronto at Mississauga, O ntario, Canada. A ddress corre spondence to Randi E . McCabe , Departme nt of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St, 4th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3G3, Canada, e -mail addre ss: randi@psych.utoronto.ca, or to Kirk R. B lankstein, Departme nt of Psychology, Erindale College , University of Toronto at Mississauga, O ntario, L5L 1C6, e -mail addre ss: kblanks1@cre dit.erin.utoronto.ca 587
0147-5916/99/1200-0587$1 6.00/0 1999 Ple num Publishing Corporation

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McCabe , B lan kstein, an d Mills

Inte rpe rsonal Se nsitivity Inte rpersonal se nsitivity is a personality style characte rize d by an e xce ssive aware ne ss of both the be havior and fe e lings of othe rs (B oyce & Parke r, 1989) . High inte rpe rsonally se nsitive individuals are e xtre mely se nsitive to inte ractions with othe rs and the y be have in such a way as to minim ize the risk of ne gative e valuation. B oyce and Parke r (1989) describe inte rpe rsonal sensitivity as a multidime nsional construct involving ve compone nts: (1) Inte rpe rsonal A ware ne ss hype rattentive ne ss to the behavior and re actions of othe rs; (2) Nee d for A pproval the de sire to make othe rs happy and minim ize con ict; (3) Separation A nxie ty se nsitivity to thre ats toward re lationship bonds; (4) Timidity the inability to be asse rtive in relationships; and (5) Fragile Inne r-Se lf an unlike able inne r se lf re late d to fragile self-e ste em and low self-worth. B ased on their multidime nsional mode l, B oyce and Parke r (1989) have de ve lope d an instrum e nt (Inte rpe rsonal Sensitivity Me asure , IPSM; B oyce & Parke r, 1989) to measure inte rpersonal sensitivity. 3 Depre sse d individuals typically have highe r le ve ls of inte rpe rsonal sensitivity than nonde pressed individuals (e .g., Boyce & Parke r, 1989) . Many studie s show that inte rpe rsonal sensitivity is an important risk factor for the onse t, mainte nance , and recurre nce of de pre ssion (B oyce , Parke r, B arne tt, Coone y, & Smith, 1991; B oyce , Parke r, Hickie , Wilhe lm, B rodaty, & Mitche ll, 1990; B oyce , Hickie , Parke r, Mitche ll, Wilhe lm, & B rodaty, 1992; Davidson, Z isook, Gille r, & Helms, 1989) , including postnatal de pre ssion following childbirth (B oyce , Parke r e t al., 1991; B oyce e t al., 1991) . So cial Proble m -So lv in g Social proble m-solving is anothe r vulne rability factor associate d with de pre ssion, and with psychologic al adjustm ent more broadly. The ore tical accounts of proble m-solving postulate positive and ne gative self-appraisals and speci c cognitive -behavioral skills as important aspe cts involve d in solving inte rpe rsonal and social proble ms e ncounte re d in daily life ( see D Z urilla & Goldfrie d, 1971; Heppne r & Krauskopf, 1987; Nezu & D Z urilla, 1989) . Social proble m-solving is an important coping strategy mediating the affe ctive e xpe rience s associate d with daily life stre ssors or proble ms (D Z urilla & Nezu, 1982; Nezu & D Z urilla, 1989) . E ffe ctive proble m-solving can de crease or minim ize psychologic al stress and negative affe ctive state s by e nabling a pe rson to more effe ctive ly manage daily life proble ms and the ir e motional e ffe cts. There is e vide nce of a strong re lationship betwe e n proble m-solving de cits and de pre ssive symptoms (Nezu & D Z urilla, 1989) . Nume rous studie s, using diffe rent measure s of proble m-solving, have de monstrate d this re lationship across the life span: in childre n and adole scents (e .g., Sacco & Graves, 1984; Sadowski, Moore , & Kelle y, 1994) , colle ge stude nts (e .g., Blankste in, Flett, & Johnston, 1992; Heppne r & A nde rson, 1985; Nezu & Ronan, 1987) , and middle -age d and e lde rly adults (Kant,
3

The IPSM is different from the interpersonal sensitivity subscale of the Symptom Checklist 90 Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1983) as it measure s a personality style or trait rathe r than a se t of symptoms (B oyce & Parke r, 1989) .

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D Z urilla, & Mayde u-O livare s, 1997) . Social proble m-solving has be e n linke d with suicidal ide ation ( Sadowski & Kelly, 1993) , and recently, E lliott, She wchuk, Riche son, Picke lman, and Franklin ( 1996) re porte d an association be twe e n social problem-solving and peripartum and postpartum de pre ssion. In addition to the link with depression, the re is a large body of e mpirical re se arch de monstrating the re lation be twee n proble m-solving and othe r indice s of psychologic al adjustme nt, in both clinical and subclinical sample s. For example , studie s have found social proble m-solving to be re late d to positive and ne gative affe ct (Chang & D Z urilla, 1996; E lliott, She rwin, Harkins, & Maram arosh, 1995) , psychologic al stress ( D Z urilla & She e dy, 1991; Nezu, 1985) , acade mic compete nce (D Z urilla & Shee dy, 1992; E lliott, Godshall, Shrout, & Witty, 1990) , anxie ty (Nezu, 1985, 1986b) , te st anxie ty (B lankste in, Flett, & B atte n, 1989; B lankste in, Flett, & Watson, 1992; Fle tt & B lankste in, 1994) , and worry (Davey, Jubb, & Came ron, 1996; Dugas, Letarte , Rhe aume , Free ston, & Ladouce ur, 1995) . A im s of the Pre se nt Stu dy O ne obje ctive of our study was to examine the inte rrelation be twee n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving. Se veral studie s have conne cted social proble m solving to inte rpe rsonal behavior and social support (e .g., Wang, Heppne r, & B e rry, 1997) . For e xam ple , re search conducte d by E lliott, Herrick, and Witty (1992) sugge sts that e ffe ctive social proble m solving (particularly, proble m solving appraisal) is associate d with highe r le ve ls of social support. O the r re se arch has found that se lf-appraise d ``unsucce ssful proble m solve rs re port more re lationship proble ms than se lf-appraise d ``successful proble m solve rs (He ppne r, Hibe l, Neal, We inste in, & Rabinowitz , 1982) . Social proble m-solving ability has also bee n re late d to assertive behavior (E lliott, Godshall, Herrick, Witty, & Sprue ll, 1991) . B ased on this re se arch and on the e vide nce conne cting both inte rpe rsonal sensitivity and social proble m solving to depression, we e xpe cted that these two constructs would ove rlap. In addition, rese arch has linke d the proble m-solving orie ntation compone nt to ne uroticism (Chang & D Z urilla, 1996; Elliott, Herrick, MacNair, & Harkins, 1994) , a construct subsuming inte rpersonal se nsitivity. Thus, we pre dicte d that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity, particularly those compone nts most strongly associated with depression: fragile inne r-se lf, se paration anxie ty, and inte rpe rsonal aware ne ss (B oyce & Parke r, 1989; B oyce et al., 1990; B oyce e t al., 1992) , would be associate d with a negative proble m-solving orientation and de cie nt proble m-solving style s. It has be e n hypothe size d that se lf-appraise d proble m-solving ability affe cts adjustme nt directly, in part by in ue ncing a pe rson s se lf-e ste em (D Z urilla, 1986) . Howe ve r, with the e xce ption of one set of unpublishe d re sults (D Z urilla, Nezu, & Mayde uO livare s, in pre ss), the link betwe en social proble m-solving and se lf-e stee m has not be en e stablishe d. Thus, we include d self-este e m as an outcome variable . The re are se veral re asons to e xpe ct an association be twe en the se measure s and se lf-e ste em. First, low se lf-e ste e m is a core symptom of depression (B eck, 1967) . Second, both de pre ssion and se lf-e ste em are associate d with similar attributiona l style s (e .g., Le nne n, Herzbe rge r, & Nelson, 1987) and it has be e n sugge ste d that the te nde ncy to make

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complex attributions to inte rnal and exte rnal factors by de pre sse d individuals may actually be a motivate d atte mpt to prote ct low self-e ste e m ( Fle tt, Pline r, & B lankste in, 1989) . Finally, and pe rhaps most importantly, chronic low se lf-e ste em is conside re d by some theorists to be an important diathe sis for depression (e .g., Brown & Harris, 1978) . The pre se nt study is unique in that we asse sse d re sponde nts trait self-e ste e m in both acade mic and social situations, two are as of gre at re le vance to colle ge stude nts (se e Fle tt, B lankste in, O cchiuto, & Kole din, 1994) . A nothe r outcom e variable e xam ine d was acade mic pe rformance in an introductory unive rsity course , an important adaptational outcom e in a unive rsity population. A lthough an association betwe e n depression and acade mic pe rformance has be en reporte d (e .g., Haine s, Norris, & Kasky, 1996) , it is of inte rest to de te rmine whe ther inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving are diffe rentially relate d to various adaptational outcome s. Course pe rformance offe re d a longitudinal, be havioral outcom e measure , less susceptible to impre ssion manage ment and se lfde ceptive bias (Fle tt, Blankste in, Pline r, & B ator, 1988; Paulhus, 1991) than selfre porte d trait se lf-e stee m and de pressive symtomatology. To summarize , the rationale of our study was to e xam ine the inte rre lation be twe e n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving as well as the re lation of the se constructs to thre e indice s of adjustme nt: acade mic and social self-e ste e m, de pre ssive symptom s, and acade mic pe rformance . It was pre dicte d that (1) ove rall leve l of inte rpersonal se nsitivity and, in particular, the fragile inne r-se lf, separation anxie ty, and inte rpe rsonal aware ne ss compone nts would be positive ly re late d to ne gative proble m orientation and the de cie nt proble m-solving style s and ne gative ly re late d to positive proble m orie ntation and rational proble m solving. It was also e xpe cted that (2) inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving would be pre dictive of le ve ls of se lf-e stee m, de pre ssive symptom s, and acade mic performance .

ME THOD Particip an ts The participants were 207 unde rgraduate stude nts enrolle d in the full acade mic year Introductory Psychology course at the Unive rsity of Toronto at Mississauga. Participants re ceive d course credit for participatio n. O ve rall, 133 of the participants (64%) were fe male and 74 (36%) we re male . Me an age was 22.4 ye ars with a standard de viation of 6.9 ye ars. Measu re s Interperso nal Sensiti vity Inte rpersonal se nsitivity was me asure d using the Interpersonal Se nsitivity Me asure (IPSM; B oyce & Parke r, 1989) , a 36-ite m self-re port instrum ent yie lding a total score and ve subscale score s. Total score s range from 36 to 144. The ve subscale s measure the ve compone nts of inte rpe rsonal sensitivity: (1) Interpe rsonal A ware -

Inte rpe rson al Se nsitivity and So cial Proble m -So lving

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ne ss (e .g., ``I care about what othe r people fe e l about me ); (2) Need for A pproval (e .g., ``I will go out of my way to please some one I am close to ); ( 3) Separation A nxie ty (e .g., ``I fee l insecure whe n I say goodbye to pe ople ); (4) Timidity (e.g., ``I avoid saying what I think for fe ar of be ing re jected ); and (5) Fragile Inne r-Self (e.g., ``My value as a pe rson de pends enormously on what othe rs think of me ). The scale has good psychom etric prope rtie s including high re liability and validity (with the e xception of the ``nee d for approval subscale ; B oyce & Parke r, 1989) . So cial Problem -So l vin g Social proble m-solving was measure d with the Social Proble m-Solving Inve ntory Revise d (SPSI-R; D Z urilla, Nezu, & Mayde u-O livare s, in press; Mayde uO livare s & D Z urilla, 1996) . The SPSI-R measure s both positive and ne gative proble m-solving attitude s, strategies, and technique s (D Z urilla & Mayde uO livare s, 1995) . The 52-ite m SPSI-R consists of ve scales: (1) Positive proble m orientation (e .g., ``Whe neve r I have a proble m, I be lie ve that it can be solve d ); (2) Negative proble m orie ntation (e .g., ``I fe e l thre ate ne d and afraid when I have an important proble m to solve . ); (3) Rational proble m-solving (e .g., ``When I am trying to solve a proble m, I often think of diffe re nt solutions and the n try to combine some of the m to make a bette r solution ); (4) Impulsivity /care le ssne ss style (e.g., ``When I am atte mpting to solve a proble m, I act on the rst ide a that occurs to me ); and (5) A voidance style ( e.g., ``I wait to se e if a proble m will resolve itse lf rst, be fore trying to solve it myse lf ). Many studie s show support for the psychom e tric prope rtie s of the SPSI-R ( e.g., Chang & D Z urilla, 1996; D Z urilla, Nezu, & Mayde u-O livare s, in press). A cad em ic an d So cial Self-E steem A n e xte nde d ve rsion of Rosenbe rg s (1965) Se lf-E ste em Q uestionnaire ( SE Q ) was used to asse ss self-e ste e m. Me talsky (1992) e xte nde d the scale by having participants answer the 10 items se parate ly for achie ve ment-relate d situations ( which we adapte d to ``acade mic situations) , inte rpe rsonal-re late d (``social ) situations, and situations in ge ne ral. E ach ite m is rated on a 5-point scale . Highe r score s re e ct gre ate r self-e ste e m. The social and acade mic subscale s ( total across ite ms) of the E xte nde d SE Q were use d in testing our pre dictions. D epression Leve l of depre ssive symptom s was asse sse d using the 20-ite m Center for E pide miologic Studie s Depression Scale (CE S-D; Radloff, 1977) . This instrume nt was se le cted be cause it was designe d as a de pre ssion scale for rese arch in a nonclinical, gene ral population, and thus it is appropriate for use in a colle ge population. A numbe r of studie s have de monstrate d the CE S-D to have good psychom etric prope rtie s (e .g., B oyd, Weissman, Thompson, & Mye rs, 1982; Radloff, 1977) . A cad em ic Perfo rm an ce Final grade in the Introductory Psychology course was used as an indicator of acade mic pe rformance . This grade is a composite of ve term te sts comprised of

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multiple -choice and short answe r e ssay que stions, a laboratory compone nt, and a nal multiple -choice examination. To avoid bias in se lf-re port, we obtaine d the se data from stude nt re cords. Course grade was sele cted as an outcome me asure ove r te st pe rformance or grade point ave rage following the recomme ndation of Smith, A rnkoff, and Wright ( 1990) . Procedure Participants comple ted que stionnaire package s in small group te sting se ssions (approxim ate ly 10 participants at a time ) during the rst seme ster. Package s were pre se nted in a randomize d orde r to each participant. Participant s comple te d the measure s e arly in the Fall se meste r and were e xpose d to only one or two term te sts prior to the ir participation .

R E SU LTS D e scrip tiv e Statistics The means, standard de viations, re liabilitie s, and inte rcorre lations for the subscales of the IPSM and the SPSI-R are pre se nted in Table I. Inte rcorre lations among the IPSM subscale s range d from a low of .04 to a high of .89. Inte rcorre lations among the SPSI-R subscale s range d from a low of 2 .16 to a high of .66. Reliabilitie s for the IPSM subscale s range d from a low of .56 on the nee d for approval subscale , to a high of .88 for the IPSM total score . O ther than the ne ed for approval subscale , the reliability of the IPSM was quite good. Reliabilitie s for the SPSI-R range d from
Table I. Means, Standard Deviations, Re liabilities, and Intercorrelations A mong Subscale s of the IPSM and the SPSI-R (N 5 197) a
IPSM IPA W A RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA G SE LF IPSMTO T SPSI-R PPO NPO RPS ICS AS
a

NA PPR O V .42 c

SE PA NX .61 c .10

TIMIDITY .52 c .26 c .37 c

FRA G SE LF .66 c .04 .65 c .31 c

IPSMTO T .89 c .45 c .79 c .71 c .74 c

M 18.91 26.37 18.52 20.54 9.78 94.22

SD 3.96 3.06 4.76 4.40 3.36 14.26

.75 .56 .79 .75 .78 .88

NPO

RPS
c

ICS
c

AS
c

2 .43

2 .16 b

.66

2 .23

2 .37 c
.62 c 2 .18 c .64 c

.59 c 2 .27 c

11.95 16.45 44.82 14.66 10.47

3.55 9.02 13.05 6.90 6.72

.68 .91 .92 .84 .89

IPA W A RE : Inte rpe rsonal A ware ne ss; NA PPR O V : Ne e d for A pproval; SE PA NX: Se paration A nxie ty; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Se lf; IPSMTO T: Inte rpe rsonal Se nsitivity Total; PPO : Positive Proble m O rie ntation; NPO : Ne gative Proble m O rie ntation; RPS: Rational Proble m-solvin g; ICS: Impulsivity /Care le ssne ss Style ; A S: A voidance Style ; : coe f cie nt alpha. b p , .05. c p , .01.

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a low of .68 for the positive proble m orie ntation compone nt to a high of .92 for the rational proble m-solving compone nt. O ve rall, the se re sults indicate that the SPSI-R has good reliability. Inte rpe rsonal Se nsitivity, So cial Proble m -So lvin g, an d A djustm e nt Data was analyze d using corre lational and multiple hie rarchical re gression analyse s. The inte rrelation be twee n the IPSM and the SPSI-R was examine d rst. Relations be twee n inte rpersonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving and the pre diction of self-este e m, de pre ssion, and acade mic pe rformance were e xam ine d se cond. In the pre diction of the se outcome s, the IPSM subscale s were ente re d in the rst block followe d by the SPSI-R scale s in the se cond block. This se que nce was theore tically base d on the grounds that inte rpe rsonal sensitivity is vie wed as a predisposing pe rsonality style pre se nt at a young age , whe reas social proble msolving would be de velope d ove r time and with e xpe rie nce . Howe ve r, it is also possible that social proble m-solving may mediate the relationship be twee n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and crite rion variable s. To show that inte rpersonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving account for unique variance in criterion variable s, the re verse analyse s were also conducte d with the SPSI-R scale s e ntere d rst followe d by the IPSM subscale s. In e ach case, analyse s were conducte d rst on the combine d sample and then se parate ly for each ge nde r. Howe ve r, with the exce ption of the analyse s using acade mic pe rformance as the crite rion (see be low) , no ge nde r diffe re nce s e merged; thus, only the combine d sample analyse s are re porte d. It is the ore tically possible that social proble m-solving could ope rate as a mode rator of the re lation be twe e n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and adjustm e nt outcome s. We e xam ine d this possibility by e ntering a nal block in the re gression equations that include d all meaningful inte ractions be twe e n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving. This block was not signi cant in any of the analyse s and accounte d for less than 2% of the variance in crite rion variable s. These inte raction e ffects will not be discusse d furthe r. Inte rre latio n B e tw ee n Interpersonal Sensitiv ity an d So cial Proble m -So lvin g Pe arson corre lation coe f cie nts compute d be twee n the IPSM and the SPSI-R compone nts are pre se nted in Table II. A s expe cted, inte rpe rsonal sensitivity total score was inve rse ly re late d to positive proble m-solving orie ntation and positive ly re late d to negative proble m orie ntation and the maladaptive proble m-solving style s. R e gre ssio n A nalyse s Since both the IPSM and the SPSI-R are multidim e nsional measure s, a se rie s of hierarchical multiple re gression analysis was conducte d to e xamine the re lations be twe e n the se measure s. Results are reporte d in Table III. In this se rie s of analyse s, social proble m-solving was e xam ined as a predictor of the total score on the IPSM and each of its subscale s. Social proble m-solving accounte d for 34% of the variance

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McCabe , B lan kstein, an d Mills Tab le II. Correlations B e tween the Six Interpe rsonal Se nsitivity Dime nsions and the Five Proble m-Solving Dime nsions (N 5 197) a IPSM PPO IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF IPSMTO T NPO .51 .04 .59c .27c .46c .54c
c

SPSI-R RPS ICS AC

2 .30 2 2 2 2

2 .05
.13 2 .05 .11 2 .09 .01

.01 .20 c .09 .24 c .24 c

2 .11

.29

.31c .06 .39c .27c

2 .02

.36c .35c .26c .41c .39c

IPA WA RE : Interpersonal A ware ne ss; NA PPRO V: Ne ed for A pproval; SE PA NX: Separation A nxie ty; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Self; IPSMTO T: Interpersonal Sensitivity Total; PPO : Positive Problem O rientation; NPO : Negative Problem O rie ntation; RPS: Rational Proble m-Solving; ICS: Impulsivity/Care lessness Style ; AS: A voidance Style. b p , .05. c p , .01.

in the total inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity score . The signi cant pre dictor was negative proble m orientation. Those highe r on ne gative proble m orientation te nde d to also be highe r on inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity. These re sults indicate that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving are re late d and ove rlap to some e xte nt. A s predicte d, ne gative proble m orientation was the stronge st pre dictor of all aspe cts of inte rpersonal sensitivity (e xce pt nee d for approval) .

Tab le III. Summary of Hierarchical Re gre ssion A nalysis: Predicting Interpersonal Sensitivity from Social Proble m-Solving (N 5 182) a Predictor variable E quation NPO E quation NPO PPO E quation E quation NPO E quation NPO ICS AS E quation NPO
a

R2 .34 d

B .83

SE B .14 .04 .11

b
.51 d

1: O utcome 5 2: O utcome 5 3: O utcome 5 4: O utcome 5 5: O utcome 5

IPSMTO T IPA WA RE

.31 d

2 .25
NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY .05 .36 d .36 .18 d

.19

2 .22 b
.67 d

.43 d

.05 .05 .06 .06 .04

2 .15
6: O utcome 5 .19 FRA GSE LF .29 d .11

.13

2 .24 b
.29 c .30 c

.27 b

IPSMTO T: Interpersonal Se nsitivity Total; IPA W ARE : Interpersonal Awareness; NA PPRO V : Ne e d for A pproval; SE PA NX: Se paration A nxiety; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Self; PPO : Positive Problem Orie ntation; NPO : Ne gative Problem O rie ntation; RPS: Rational Proble m-Solving; ICS: Impulsivity /Care lessness Style; A S: A voidance Style. b p , .05. c p , .01. d p , .001.

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Interpersonal Sensitiv ity, So cial Problem -So lv in g, an d the Pre dictio n of Se lfE ste e m , D epressiv e Sym ptom s, an d A cad e m ic Pe rfo rm an ce Pe arson corre lations betwe en the IPSM and SPSI-R subscale s and the three outcom e me asure s are pre se nte d in Table IV . A ll compone nts of the IPSM (exce pt ne ed for approval) were inve rse ly re late d to social and acade mic se lf-e stee m score s. Consiste nt with B oyce and Parke r s (1989) mode l of inte rpe rsonal sensitivity that re late s the fragile inne r-se lf compone nt to low se lf-e stee m, there was a strong inve rse re lation be twe en the fragile se lf compone nt and both social and acade mic se lf-e stee m. Separation anxie ty was also strongly inve rse ly re late d to self-e ste e m. The highe r the le vel of separation anxie ty, the lowe r the self-e ste e m. A ll compone nts of the SPSI-R were also signi cantly relate d to self-este e m score s. Negative proble m orientation e vide nce d the stronge st inve rse re lation with se lf-e stee m. A ll compone nts of the IPSM (except ne e d for approval) were signi cantly re late d to depre ssive symptom s such that the highe r the le vel of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity, the highe r the leve l of de pre ssive symptom s. A ll compone nts of the SPSI-R , with the e xce ption of the rational proble m-solving scale , were also signi cantly re late d to depre ssive symptom s. The highe r the score s on the negative probTable IV . Corre lations B etwe en Interpersonal Se nsitivity, Social Proble m-Solving, and O utcome Measure s: De pression, Se lf-Este em, and A cade mic Pe rformance a Self-este em Social (N 5 202) IPSM IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF IPSMTO T b SPSI-R PPO NPO RPS ICS AS M SD
a

A cademic pe rformance De pre ssion (N 5 206) .40d .52d .23d .35d .47d
d

A cademic (N 5 202)

Fe male (N 5 124) .04 .09 2 .14 .12 .06 .01

Male (N 5 66) .05 .11 2 .31c .01 2 .16

2 .53 d
.10 2 .56 d 2 .32 d 2 .64 d

2 .41d
.07 2 .55d 2 .20d 2 .51d

2 .01

2 .63 d 2 .60 d 2 .34 d 2 .46

d

2 .52d 2 .57d 2 .28d 2 .35

38.22 7.96
d

2 .09 2 .16
.14 .05

.41

.35

2 .23

.20d

.15 c

.57d 2 .06 .30d .30d 36.62 11.06

2 .01 2 .02 2 .01

.00 68.73 9.69 .03

2 .34 d 2 .39 d
69.15 9.33

39.66 7.78

IPA WA RE : Interpersonal A wareness; NA PPRO V : Nee d for A pproval; SE PA NX: Separation Anxiety; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Se lf; IPSMTO T: Interpe rsonal Se nsitivity Total; PPO : Positive Problem O rientation; NPO : Ne gative Proble m Orie ntation; RPS: Rational Problem-Solving; ICS: Impulsivity/Carele ssne ss Style ; A S: A voidance Style . b Total IPSM score (IPSMTO T) was calculate d without including the nee d for approval (NA PPRO V ) as this subscale had a ve ry low re liability and was weakly corre late d with the other subscales of the IPSM. Corre lational analyses re veale d that nee d for approval was not re lated to any of the indices of psychological adjustme nt. Future use of the IPSM should conside r the utility of including this component when e xamining a nonclinical population. c p , .05. d p , .01.

596

McCabe , B lan kstein, an d Mills

lem orie ntation scale , impulsivity /carele ssne ss scale , and avoidance scale , the highe r the leve l of de pre ssive symptoms. Conve rsely, the highe r the score on the positive proble m orie ntation scale, the lowe r the le ve l of de pre ssive symptom s. Gende r diffe re nce s were found with re spe ct to acade mic pe rformance . For fe male s, ne ithe r inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity nor social proble m-solving were relate d to acade mic performance . Howe ve r, for male s, aspe cts of both factors were relate d to acade mic pe rformance. With re spe ct to inte rpersonal se nsitivity, se paration anxie ty was ne gative ly re late d to acade mic performance (r 5 2 .31, p , .05) and with re spe ct to social proble m-solving, both maladaptive proble m-solving style s we re signi cantly ne gative ly re late d to acade mic pe rformance . R e gre ssio n A nalyse s A se ries of hierarchical re gre ssion analyse s was use d to pre dict se lf-e stee m, de pre ssive symptom s, and acade mic pe rformance from the IPSM and SPSI-R scale s. In the rst se t of analyse s, the re lation be twe en inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity, social proble m-solving, and acade mic and social se lf-e stee m was e xamine d. Results are summarize d in Table V . The IPSM subscale s accounte d for 53% and 38% of the variance in social se lfe stee m and acade mic se lf-e ste e m, respective ly. This indicate s that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity is strongly associate d with low self-este e m. In the se cond block, the SPSIR subscale s accounte d for an additional 10% of the variance in both social and acade mic se lf-este e m with ne gative proble m orie ntation a signi cant pre dictor and as expe cted, ne gative ly re late d. Whe n the SPSI-R subscale s were ente re d rst in the analyse s (lower portion of Table V ), the y accounte d for 37% and 46% of the variance in social self-este e m and acade mic se lf-e stee m, respectively. Consiste nt with the ndings re porte d above , ne gative proble m orie ntation was a signi cant predictor of both social and acade mic se lf-e stee m. In the se cond block, the IPSM subscale s accounte d for an additional 11% and 17% of the variance in social se lf-este e m and acade mic se lf-e stee m, respective ly. Thus, both inte rpersonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving account for unique variance in both social and acade mic se lf-e stee m. In the ne xt analysis, the re lation betwe e n inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity, social problem-solving, and le vel of depressive symptom s was e xamine d. Results are pre sente d in Table V I. The IPSM subscale s accounte d for 30% of the variance in the leve l of de pre ssive symptom s. In the second block, the SPSI-R subscale s accounte d for an additional 9% of the variance in the le vel of de pre ssive symptoms. The only signi cant pre dictor was negative proble m orie ntation, which was positive ly re late d. Whe n the SPSI-R subscale s were ente re d rst in the analyse s the y accounte d for 37% of the variance in depression score with negative proble m orientation the only signi cant pre dictor. In the se cond block, the IPSM subscale s accounte d for an additional 5% of the variance in depression score . Thus, both inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble msolving account for unique variance in de pre ssive symptom s. Since the Pearson correlations sugge ste d that the link be twe en inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving and acade mic performance diffe red as a

Inte rpe rson al Se nsitivity and So cial Proble m -So lving

597

Table V . Summary of Hierarchical Re gre ssion A nalysis: Interpe rsonal Se nsitivity and Social Proble mSolving Pre dicting Social and A cademic Se lf-Este em (N 5 182) a Social self-este em R2 B lock Numbe r 1 IPSM Dimensions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF B lock Numbe r 2 SPSI-R Dimensions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Numbe r 1 SPSI-R Dimensions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Numbe r 2 IPSM Dimensions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF
a

A cademic self-este em

SE B

R2 .38e

SE B

.53 e

2 .45 2 .33 2 .86

.62

.18 .15 .12 .19

2 .23 c 2 .20 c 2 .37 e

.25e

2 .63 2 .54
.10b,e

.39

.18 .14 .22

2 .37 e 2 .22 c

.15 c

.10 b,e

2 .30
.18

.07 .08

2 .34 e
.16c

2 .36

.09

2 .39 e

.37 e

.46e

2 .53

.08

2 .58 e

2 .47

.07

2 .53 e

.11 b,e

.17b,e

2 .21
.46

.09

2 .18 c
.18 d

2 .38 2 .61

.15 .21

2 .22d 2 .25d

.14

2 .89

.17

2 .38 c

IPA WA RE : Interpersonal A wareness; NA PPRO V : Nee d for A pproval; SE PA NX: Separation Anxiety; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSELF: Fragile Se lf; PRO : Positive Proble m O rientation; NPO : Negative Proble m Orie ntation; RPS: Rational Proble m-Solving; ICS: Impulsivity/Care lessness Style; A S: A voidance Style. b 2 R change. c p , .05. d p , .01. e p , .001.

function of gende r, this re lation was e xam ine d in se parate re gre ssion analyse s of e ach ge nde r. These re sults are summarize d in Table V II. In the rst block, IPSM subscale s accounte d for 11% of the variance in acade mic pe rformance for fe male s compare d to 18% for male s. In the se cond block, the incre mental contributio n of the SPSI-R subscale s was not signi cant for female s whe re as social proble m-solving accounte d for 22% of additional variance in nal grade for male s. Whe n the SPSI-R subscale s were e nte re d rst in the analyse s, followe d by the IPSM subscale s, re sults almost ide ntical to that re porte d above were found. Social proble m-solving did not account for a signi cant portion of the variance in grade for fe males, but accounte d for 23% of the variance in grade for males. Inte rpe rsonal sensitivity accounte d for an additional 11% of the variance in

598

McCabe , B lan kstein, an d Mills Tab le V I. Summary of Hie rarchical Regre ssion A nalysis: Interpersonal Sensitivity and Social Proble m-Solving Predicting Depression (N 5 197) a De pre ssion R B lock Number 1 IPSM Dime nsions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF B lock Number 2 SPSI-R Dime nsions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Number 1 SPSI-R Dime nsions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Number 2 IPSM Dime nsions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF
a 2

SE B

.30 e

2 .57
1.04

.77

.30 .26 .20

2 .16 c
.44 e

.27 c

.09 b,e .77 .12 .44 e

.37 c .86 .11 .68 e

.05 b,c

.66

.21

.28 d

IPA W ARE : Interpersonal A ware ne ss; NA PPRO V : Nee d for Approval; SE PA NX: Se paration A nxie ty; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Se lf; PPO : Positive Problem O rie ntation; NPO : Negative Proble m O rie ntation; RPS: Rational ProblemSolving; ICS: Impulsivity /Carelessness Style ; A S: A voidance Style . b 2 R change . c p , .05. d p , .01. e p , .001.

grade in fe male s and 17% in male s. The se re sults indicate that inte rpersonal sensitivity accounts for unique variance in acade mic pe rformance for both fe male s and males. Social proble m-solving also accounts for unique variance in acade mic performance, but only for male s. Thus, it se ems that social proble m-solving, particularly a ne gative proble m orie ntation, is strongly relate d to acade mic performance in male s.

D ISCU SSION This study brought toge the r two pre viously inde pe nde nt line s of re se arch by e xam ining the link be twe e n inte rpe rsonal sensitivity (a personality vulne rability

Inte rpe rson al Se nsitivity and So cial Proble m -So lving

599

Table V II. Summary of Hierarchical Re gression A nalysis: Interpe rsonal Se nsitivity and Social Proble mSolving Pre dicting Acade mic Performance a A cade mic pe rformance Females (N 5 R B lock Numbe r 1 IPSM Dimensions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF B lock Numbe r 2 SPSI-R Dimensions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Numbe r 1 SPSI-R Dimensions PPO NPO RPS ICS AS B lock Numbe r 2 IPSM Dimensions IPA WA RE NA PPRO V SE PA NX TIMIDITY FRA GSE LF
a 2

118)

Male s (N 5

64)

SE B

SE B

.11c

.18 c

2 .76
1.04 .01b

.25 .45

2 .39d
.37c .22b ,d

2 .97

.36

2 .44 d

.77

.23

.74d

2 .79
.00 .23 d .47

.27

2 .52 d

.19

.46c

2 .70
.11b,c .17 b,c

.29

2 .46c

2 .81
.52 1.13

.27 .26 .47

2 .42d
.23c .40c

2 1.36 2 .97

.39 .36

2 .63 d 2 .44 d

IPA WA RE : Interpersonal A wareness; NA PPRO V : Nee d for A pproval; SE PA NX: Separation Anxiety; TIMIDITY: Timidity; FRA GSE LF: Fragile Self; PPO : Positive Problem O rientation; NPO : Ne gative Proble m Orie ntation; RPS: Rational Proble m-Solving; ICS: Impulsivity/Care lessness Style; A S: A voidance Style. b 2 R change. c p , .05. d p , .01. e p , .001.

factor) and social proble m-solving (a cognitive -be havioral risk factor) and their joint re lation to social and acade mic se lf-e stee m, depre ssive symptom s, and acade mic pe rformance . O ur study reve ale d se veral signi cant ndings: (1) inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving are distinct yet re late d constructs; (2) both inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving accounte d for unique variance in both social and acade mic se lf-e ste em; (3) both inte rpersonal se nsitivity and social problem-solving accounte d for unique variance in de pre ssive symptoms; (4) the re we re inte re sting ge nde r diffe re nce s with re spe ct to the relation be twe en inte rpersonal se nsitivity, social proble m-solving and acade mic pe rformance. A s predicte d, inte rpe rsonal sensitivity was ne gative ly re late d to positive prob-

600

McCabe , B lan kstein, an d Mills

lem orie ntation and positive ly relate d to ne gative proble m orientation and dysfunctional proble m-solving style s. Hierarchical re gre ssion analyse s re ve ale d that ne gative proble m orie ntation was the stronge st pre dictor of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity. Thus, the high inte rpe rsonally se nsitive stude nt is more like ly to view proble ms as thre ate ning and unsolvable , have low se lf-e f cacy with re spe ct to proble m-solving e fforts, and be come e asily discourage d whe n atte mpting to proble m solve . Inte rpersonal sensitivity and social proble m-solving are not ove rlapping constructs in terms of conte nt. A content analysis comparing ite ms of the IPSM with those of the SPSI-R re ve als re lative ly no similarity. Thus, the association that e merge d betwe e n these two constructs is like ly a re sult of the causal re lations be twe e n the unique fe ature s of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving, rathe r than conte nt similarity. A spe cts of both inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving were unique ly re late d to both social and acade mic se lf-este e m. The se results are consiste nt with a pre vious nding showing an association be twe en inte rpe rsonal sensitivity and Rose nbe rg (1965) ``ge neral self-este e m (B oyce & Parke r, 1989) . With re spe ct to social proble m-solving, all aspe cts we re associate d with both social and acade mic se lf-e stee m with ne gative proble m orie ntation evide ncing the stronge st re lations. B oth inte rpersonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving accounte d for unique variance in the prediction of de pre ssive symptomatology . The highe r the leve l of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity, the highe r the leve l of de pre ssive symptom s. With re spe ct to social proble m-solving, ne gative proble m orie ntation e vide nce d the stronge st association with de pressive symptomatology . Inte rpersonal se nsitivity accounte d for a signi cant portion of the variance in acade mic performance in both males and fe male s. With respe ct to social proble msolving and acade mic pe rformance , inte re sting ge nde r diffe re nces e merged. In fe males, social proble m-solving was not a signi cant predictor. In male s, social problem-solving accounte d for a signi cant portion of the variance in acade mic pe rformance, e ve n gre ater than inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity. These ndings are consiste nt with those of pre vious studie s e xam ining the re lation betwe e n social proble msolving ability and subse que nt le ve l of acade mic compe te nce in colle ge stude nts, with the exception that our re sults we re found only in male s (D Z urilla & Nezu, 1990; D Z urilla & She e dy, 1992) .4 Pre vious studie s looking at inte rpersonal se nsitivity have focused primarily on wome n and clinical samples and de pre ssion as an outcome (B oyce e t al., 1991) . The re sults of our study de monstrate that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity is a pote ntial ``risk factor for de pre ssive symptoms, low se lf-e ste em, as well as acade mic pe rformance in a young colle ge sample , for both male s and female s. In addition, the re sults of our study are consiste nt with pre vious research de monstrating a link be twe en social problem-solving and adjustme nt. The nding that ne gative proble m orientation was consistently the stronge st predictor of both low se lf-este e m and depressive symptom s is congrue nt with othe r studie s showing that proble m orie ntation plays a more important role than proble m-solving skills in adaptational outcom e s (e .g., D Z urilla & She e dy, 1991; Haaga, Fine , Roscow Te rrill, Ste wart, & B e ck, 1995) .
4

D Z urilla and She edy (1992) did not e xamine these relations se parate ly for males and fe male s.

Inte rpe rson al Se nsitivity and So cial Proble m -So lving

601

What doe s it mean whe n a stude nt has high leve ls of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity? O ur ndings inform us that pote ntially at risk stude nts are characte rize d by high leve ls of inte rpe rsonal aware ne ss, separation anxie ty, and fragile inne r-self, the thre e aspe cts of inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity most inform ative of adjustme nt (B oyce & Parke r, 1989) . Moreove r, the at risk stude nt is also characte rize d by maladaptive social proble m-solving particularly, ne gative proble m orientation. The se ndings sugge st a basis for future ide nti cation of at risk colle ge stude nts as well as directions for counse ling efforts. The implications of our ndings are unique to the colle ge stude nt e xpe rience . Most rst-year colle ge stude nts are face d with the stressful life e vent of le aving home and support syste ms, pe rhaps for the rst time , and adjusting to a comple te ly ne w environme nt where the y face both social and inte lle ctual challe nge s (She r, Wood, & Gotham, 1996) . The ndings of our study sugge st that ne gative proble m orientation is an important targe t for counse ling with unive rsity stude nts in particular, those stude nts who might be at risk due to personality vulne rability (i.e., high inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity) . Proble m-solving the rapy (se e Nezu, Nezu, & Houts, 1993, for review) has bee n effe ctive in reducing distre ss, de pre ssion, and hope lessness (A re an, Pe rri, Nezu, Sche in, Christophe r, & Jose ph 1993; Lerne r & Clum, 1990; Nezu, 1986a) , particularly the rapy that targe ts proble m orientation (e .g., Nezu & Pe rri, 1989) . Thus, counse ling e fforts focuse d on brie f inte rve ntions dire cted at both motivational aspe cts of coping with proble ms as well as se lf-de feating cognitions would be bene cial in prote cting the at risk inte rpersonally se nsitive stude nt from pote ntial mood disturbance as well as bolste ring coping proce sse s and improving positive psychosocial adjustme nt. Limitations of this study sugge st dire ctions for future research. O ur study was directed at e xam ining colle ge stude nts. Thus, the se re sults are not ge neralize able to a noncolle ge stude nt population. Future re se arche rs should examine inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving in othe r populations (e .g., psychiatric patie nts) and in diffe rent age groups (e .g., the e lderly) . There is a distinct possibility that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble msolving are relate d to seve ral forms of negative affectivity, such as anxie ty, and are not speci c to the e xpe rience of de pre ssive symptoms in colle ge stude nts ( e.g., Gotlib, 1984; Watson & Clark, 1984, Watson, Webe r, Smith A ssenhe ime r, Clark, Strauss, & McCormick, 1995) . Future re searchers should examine this issue by looking at the re lationship be twee n inte rpersonal se nsitivity, social proble m-solving, and othe r me asure s of mood and distre ss that discrim inate betwe e n anxie ty and depre ssion. A s personality factors are usually inte rre late d in comple x ways, future re se arche rs should e xam ine the relation be twe e n inte rpe rsonal sensitivity and social problem-solving and othe r pe rsonality factors such as pe rfe ctionism (e .g., B latt, 1995) and attachme nt ( e.g., Grif n & B artholom ew, 1994) that may in uence adaptational outcom e s. O ur study focused only on inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity as a pe rsonality vulne rability factor. Future researchers should also asse ss othe r risk factors such as minor and major stressful life e vents (e.g., Kanne r, Coyne , Schae fe r, & Lazarus, 1981) or social support (e.g., Cutrona & Russe ll, 1990) , which may inte ract with pe rsonality in the prediction of psychologic al adjustm e nt (se e Coyne & Whiffe n,

602

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1995) . Finally, causality should not be infe rre d from our de sign. It is e sse ntial that future prospe ctive re se arch e stablishe s that inte rpe rsonal se nsitivity and social proble m-solving are cause s or corre late s of adaptational outcom e s, such as de pre ssive symptom s.

A CK NOWLED G ME NTS This rese arch was supporte d by a Social Scie nces and Humanitie s Rese arch Council Doctoral Fellowship (SSHRC No. #752-96-1761) awarde d to the rst author and by a SSHRC Gene ral Rese arch Grant and an E rindale Colle ge Inte rnal Rese arch Grant awarde d to the second author.

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