The relationship between depression and social skills among the population at large has been well described. However, research on depression and social skills for individuals in the severe to profound range of mental retardation is lacking. To account for the lack of research with this population, we investigated the relationship between social skills and depression among 36 individuals with severe and profound MR. Significant differences between individuals with depression and controls were found across the Matson Evaluation of Social Skills for individuals with Severe Retardation (MESSIER). The implications of these findings are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Altmann, E. O., and Gotlib, I. H. (1988). The social behavior of depressed children: An observational study. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 16: 29–44.
Charlot, L. R. (1997). Irritability, aggression, and depression in adults with mental retardation: A developmental perspective. Psychiatr. Ann. 27: 190–197.
Charlot, L. R., Doucette, A. C., and Mezzacappa, E. (1993). Affective symptoms of institutionalized adults with mental retardation. Am. J. Ment. Retard. 98: 408–416.
Duncan, D., Matson, J. L., Bamburg, J. W., Cherry, K. E., and Buckley, T. (1999). The relationship of self-injurious behavior and aggression to social skills in persons with severe and profound learning disability. Res. Dev. Disabil. 20: 441–448.
Gaebel, W., and Wolwer, W. (1992). Facial expression and emotional face recognition in schizophrenia and depression. Eur. Arch. Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 242: 46–52.
Garland, M., and Fitzgerald, M. (1998). Social skills correlates of depressed mood in normal young adolescents. Irish J. Psychol. Med. 15: 19–21.
Gotlib, I. H., and Robinson, L. A. (1982). Responses to depressed individuals: Discrepancies between self-report and observer-rated behavior. J. Abnorm. Psychol. 91: 231–240.
Heiman, T., and Margalit, M. (1998). Loneliness, depression, and social skills among students with mild mental retardation in different educational settings. J. Spec. Educ. 32: 154–163.
Helsel, W. J., and Matson, J. L. (1988). The relationship of depression to social skills and intellectual functioning in mentally retarded adults. J. Ment. Defic. Res. 32: 411–418.
Hersen, M., Bellack, A. S., and Himmelhock, J. M. (1980). Treatment of unipolar depression with social skills training. Behav. Modif. 4: 547–556.
Jacobsen, R. H., Lahey, B. B., and Strauss, C. C. (1983). Correlates of depressed mood in normal children. J. Abnorm. Child Psychol. 11: 29–40.
Kuhn, D. E., Matson, J. L., Mayville, E. A., and Matson, M. L. (2001). The relationship of social skills as measured by the MESSIER to rumination in persons with profound mental retardation. Res. Dev. Disabil. 22: 503–510.
Kuiper, N. A., and McCabe, S. B. (1985). The appropriateness of social topics: Effects of depression and cognitive vulnerability on self and other judgments. Cogn. Ther. Res. 9: 371–379.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Weinstein, M. S., and Alper, T. A. (1970). A behavioral approach to the group treatment of depression: Methodological contribution. J. Clin. Psychol. 26: 525–532.
Libet, J.M., and Lewinsohn, P. M. (1973). Concept of social skill with special reference to the behavior of depressed persons. J. Consult. Clin. Psychol. 40: 304–312.
Lunsky, Y., and Palucka, A. M. (2004). Depression in intellectual disability. Curr. Opin. Psychiatry 17: 359–363.
Matson, J. L. (1982). The treatment of behavioral characteristics of depression in the mentally retarded. Behav. Ther. 13: 209–218.
Matson, J. L. (1995). The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills in the Severely Retarded (MESSIER) User's Guide. Scientific Publishers Incorporated, Baton Rouge.
Matson, J. L., Carlisle, C. B., and Bamburg, J. W. (1998b). The convergent validity of the matson evaluation of social skills for individuals with severe retardation (MESSIER). Res. Dev. Disabil. 19: 493–500.
Matson, J. L., Dettling, J., and Senatore, V. (1981). Treating depression of a mentally retarded adult. Br. J. Ment. Subnormality 16: 86–88.
Matson, J. L., Dixon, D. R., Matson, M. L., and Logan, J. R. (2005). Classifying mental retardation and specific strength and deficit areas in severe and profoundly mentally retarded persons with the MESSIER. Res. Dev. Disabil. 26: 41–45.
Matson, J. L., Smiroldo, B. B., and Bamburg, J. W. (1998b). The relationship of social skills to psychopathology for individual with severe or profound mental retardation. J. Intellect. Dev. Disabil. 23: 137–145.
Njardvik, U., Matson, J. L., and Cherry, K. E. (1999). A comparison of social skills in adults with autistic disorder, pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, and mental retardation. J. Autism Dev. Disabil. 29: 287–296.
Segrin, C. (1992). Specifying the nature of social skills deficits associated with depression. Hum. Commun. Res. 19: 89–123.
Segrin, C. (2000). Social skills deficits associated with depression. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 20: 379–403.
Segrin, C., and Flora, J. (1998). Depression and verbal behavior in conversations with friends and strangers. J. Lang. Soc. Psychol. 17: 492–503.
Segrin, C., and Flora, J. (2000). Poor social skills are a vulnerability factor in the development of psychosocial problems. Hum. Commun. Res. 26: 489–514.
Sovner, R., and Hurley, A. D. (1983). Do the mentally retarded suffer from affective illness? Archives General Psychiatry 40: 61–67.
Sparrow, S. S., Balla, D. A., and Cicchetti, D. V. (1984). Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales: Interview Edition Survey Form Manual. American Guidance Service, Circle Pines, MN.
Spirito, A., Hart, K., Overholser, J., and Halverson, J. (1990). Social skills and depression in adolescent suicide attempters. Adolescence 25: 543–552.
Strauss, C.C, Forehand, R., Frame, C., and Smith, K. (1984). Characteristics of children with extreme scores on the children's depression inventory. J. Clin. Child Psychol. 13: 227–231.
Wells, K. C., Hersen, M., Bellack, A. S., and Himmelhoch, J. (1979). Social skill training in unipolar nonpsychotic depression. Am. J. Psychiatry 136: 1331–1332.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Matson, J., Lott, J., Mayville, S. et al. Depression and Social Skills Among Individuals with Severe and Profound Mental Retardation. J Dev Phys Disabil 18, 393–400 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-006-9022-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-006-9022-8