Abstract:

Social competences are often described as skills whose level significantly influences the course and quality of communication. Social competences create the basis for socially competent behavior of an individual in specific situations. Competences therefore correspond to the potential that a person has, and which may not always be the same in different situations. The issue of social competences is a relatively monitored topic, the mapping of the level of social competences (and their possible connection with personality traits) is the subject of many researches. The aim of our survey was to find out the possible link between the personality traits and the social competences of university students in relation to the type of study and form of study (full-time and combined study). The sample consisted of 407 university students aged 19-54 years (mean age = 26.38, SD 7.09), of which 114 were men (mean age = 27.32, SD = 6.36, range = 19- 47) and 293 females (mean age = 26.01, SD = 7.33, range = 19-54). The data were obtained through two questionnaires: The Item Personality Inventory (TIPI; GOSLING) is based on the Big Five concept and the Social Competence Inventory (ISK, Kanning) which consists of 4 scales focused on social orientation, offensive, self-control and reflexibility. The following statistical procedures were used for data processing: correlation analysis, rate of explained variance (r2), Fisher transformation and inference test. The results indicate a strong, moderate and weak relationships between personality characteristics and social competencies in the whole sample. The correlation analysis among the full time and combined students show a strong correlation between the emotional stability of the TIPI questionnaire and the self-control scale, moderate relationship between the TIPI and the Offensive scale. In summary, the results suggest that personality factors play an important role in individual psychosocial competence, regardless of the type and form of study.

Keywords:

Social competence, personality, university students, Big Five.