This study assessed the relationship between interpersonal problem-solving skills, as measured by the Means-Ends Problem-Solving Procedure (MEPS), and depression-proneness, as measured by self-ratings of the frequency, duration, and severity of past depressive episodes. Results were consistent with predictions generated by interpersonal theories of depression. University students with poor interpersonal problem-solving skills were more depression-prone than students with good interpersonal skills. Partial correlations controlling for subjects' current level of depression did not diminish this relationship.
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