The Intergenerational Transmission of Social Skills and Psychosocial Problems among Parents and their Young Adult Children

The primary aim of this study was to examine the potential intergenerational transmission of social skills and psychosocial problems (i.e., loneliness and anxiety) among a sample of 255 father-mother-adult child triads. These associations, along with the indirect effects of social skills and psychosocial problems, were examined using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that fathers' social skills and loneliness are predictive of their adult children's social skills, mothers' loneliness is predictive of their adult children's loneliness; and fathers' and mothers' anxiety is predictive of their adult children's anxiety. Additionally, lower social skills were significantly associated with greater loneliness and anxiety for all family members. Finally, there was no evidence of indirect effects for parents' social skills or psychosocial problems on their adult children's social skills or psychosocial problems, through parents' psychosocial problems or adult child social skill, respectively. Implications for social skills and psychosocial problems on a family level are discussed.