Social Skills, Use of Socio-Digital Networks and Perception of General Health in Mexican Border University Students

Abstract

University students on Mexico's north-central border continue their vocational training activities at higher education institutions just over three years into the COVID-19 pandemic. Various studies indicated health effects in this period, mainly with considerable increases in anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, somatic symptoms, social dysfunction and tobacco or substance use in the face of confinement and little social contact of young people, even considering the advent of virtuality and social networks. The variable development of social skills in the forms of communication and conflict resolution has been a relevant factor in the post-pandemic period, identifying needs for analysis that enable adjustments in psychosocial support for the youth population. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between the social skills and the perception of general health of 138 university students through a non-probabilistic sampling by voluntary subjects with informed consent. Three validated instruments of social skills, general health and anxiety were applied with a cross-sectional non-experimental quantitative methodology with statistical correlation analyses. The perception of general health symptoms such as depression, somatization, and social dysfunction was associated with the social skills and anxiety of college students.