The impact of adults' used skills on their self-evaluated skills and social lives over time

Abstract

Previous research focused on individuals' background, contexts and cognitive performance in education, work, and life. Given the increasing number of people living alone temporarily, the question arises whether the frequent use of skills, including social skills, relates to individuals' later positively self-evaluated skills and social lives. Based on an integrated framework, the current analysis aimed to disentangle these relationships with longitudinal data from Germany over three years. The target sample consisted of n = 3263 working adults. A Bayesian structural equation model included adults' frequent use of skills, self-evaluated skills, household size, close friends, and seven covariates (e.g., numeracy and literacy test scores, weekly working hours. The results suggested positive relationships between adults' frequent use of numeracy, literacy, and social skills and later self-evaluations (except literacy used on self-evaluated numeracy). Those who less frequently used social skills three years earlier were also less likely to have a larger household size than those who reporting frequently using their social skills. Adults who frequently used literacy skills three years earlier reported higher numbers of close friends than those who less frequently used literacy. The findings highlight the importance of adults’ social skills and frequently used skills for self-evaluated numeracy and literacy.