Among the psychological aspects concerning obesity, the quality of the interpersonal relationships can be pointed out. The assumption is that the overweighted people, given their restrictions, may have deficits in social skills. This research aimed to verify, in a sample of 29 morbid obese women, their main deficits in general social skills and in those ones related to feeding; the influence of socio-demographic features and other cognitive or motivational aspects on those deficits. The women completed the Social Skills Inventory, questions about Assertive Skills associated with Feeding and a Questionnaire about Obesity. The results showed that obese women presented deficits mainly in Assertive Skills associated with Feeding, but they were similar to normative sample in the Social Skills Inventory; there were no influence of socio-demographic features; there are important cognitive and motivational aspects to be considered in this kind of study.
Social skills; Assertiveness; Self-Control; Obesity
