Effect of Social Skills Training Program on social functioning in patients with major depressive disorder in Outpatient Psychiatric Department, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital

Authors

  • Vanussanun Jannim Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • Peeraphon Lueboonthavatchai Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Keywords:

Social Skills Training Program, social skills, social functioning, depression, major depressive disorder

Abstract

Background: Depression is known as a common psychiatric disorder, with a lifetime prevalence of about 12.0%, more prevalent in women than men, and affects patients’ lives and their families. Social Skills Training Program (STTP) is aimed to improve the depressed patients’ social functioning by encouraging them to develop better social skills, express their emotions, and communicate their needs more effectively.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to study the effect of SSTP on social functions of the patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods: An experimental study with randomized controlled tried (RCT), was conducted in patients aged above 18 years with MDD from the Outpatient Psychiatric department, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. There were 42 subjects in total; 21 in experimental group, who received 10-session SSTP with medical treatment as usual (TAU) and 21 in control group who had only the medical TAU. Social functioning was evaluated by using Social Functioning Questionnaire (SFQ) Thai version on week 0 (before treatment) and week10 (after treatment). The effect of SSTP on social functioning after the program between 2 groups was analyzed by using unpaired student t - test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.

Results: Forty-two depressed subjects participated in the study. They were not significantly different in baseline of BDI-II score (experimental group 34.52 gif.latex?\pm 13.07, control 29.95 gif.latex?\pm 9.97). About the medication used in both groups, they received mostly SSRIs antidepressants at the average dosage of sertraline 50 - 100 mg/day. After calculating the mean difference from baseline, the mean of change of the experimental group was significantly higher than that of the control group. The differences of mean of change between the 2 groups was 5.67 with 95% CI 3.14 – 8.20 (P < 0.01), especially in the domain of social contacts, and leisure activities functioning of SFQ.

Conclusion: The Social Skills Training Program can help patients with MDD to be enable them to better adjust themselves in their lives, easier to connect to their social networks, and more enjoyable in their lives by better social skills, leading to recover on social functioning.

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Published

2023-07-27

How to Cite

1.
Jannim V, Lueboonthavatchai P. Effect of Social Skills Training Program on social functioning in patients with major depressive disorder in Outpatient Psychiatric Department, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital. Chula Med J [Internet]. 2023 Jul. 27 [cited 2024 Oct. 12];64(3). Available from: https://he05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/CMJ/article/view/247