The college life of a student is a period of transition from being a minor to becoming an adult. Although most of the physical growth of an individual is complete by then, there is much immaturity in the economic, social, and psychological aspects of their development [1]. It is also the most confusing period of life cycle developments. If one fails to develop intimate and efficient interpersonal relationships, it can result in psychological confusion, such as feelings of isolation or emptiness. College students entering the early stages of adulthood have to experience various aspects of a new environment, form relationships with one another, and communicate with each other [2]. In other words, students do not learn the skills for improving interpersonal relationships through entrance examinations, before joining a university, neither do they have opportunities to build various types of human relations naturally as they are under the care of their parents, mostly in a nuclear family [3]. The overall satisfaction or dissatisfaction of university students can also have an impact on their social life after graduation [1]. Unsatisfactory university life can cause mental and social problems due to feelings of isolation and lack of companionship, loss of interest in studying, and poor sexual performance, thereby posing a negative influence on society by impairing an individual’s potential.

Because the fourth Industrial Revolution era is an intelligent information society, it is expected that many changes will occur in education to cultivate the necessary educational competency at this moment. Recently, in various countries such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, trying to new education methods in preparation for the intelligent information society, in order to restructure the centered curriculum on the future core competency. In Korea, the concept for core competency was partially reflected in the 2015 centered curriculum [4]. Also, the basic vocational skills required in the health sector are mentioned as communication skills, problem solving skills, and interpersonal relations skills [5]. In university education, communication skills are not only very important to improve core competencies, but also influence the formation of interpersonal relationships. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a systematic 4C education program.

The core competencies needed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution era are represented by the 4C, which includes communication, critical thinking, collaborative self-efficacy, and creative problem-solving [4]. Communication is a dynamic and complex function involving the exchange of one’s thoughts with that of another and simultaneously accepting and conveying one's own message. Among college students, communication skills are essential for effective learning satisfaction [2].

Critical thinking involves determining the logical structure and meaning of content and making the best judgment after considering the evidence, methods, etc. regarding actions to be taken [6]. Studies have found that college students believed that opportunities for critical thinking arise when they were given problems that allowed them to think and seek for solutions in the course of their work [7]. Furthermore, dental hygienists must possess high critical thinking in clinical hygiene work to have the required objectivity to solve problems and influence quick and efficient decision-making. Creative problem-solving skills is an important skill to be honed through college education leading to the ability to resolve problems and adapt to changes [8]. Since most students majoring in dental hygiene work as dental hygienists in clinical practice, it is important that they have problem-solving skills to resolve patient problems. Collaborative self-efficacy refers to a learner’s personal belief in his or her ability to successfully perform team-specific tasks that contribute to performing cooperative activities. Classes of college students actively participate in group activities to achieve their goals and increase their self-efficacy when they play their part [9]. Future dental hygienists would need to have a high level of self-efficacy in dental hygiene activities for effective patient management.

Previous studies on college students have not fully explored the relationship between interpersonal ability and 4C core competency although there have been studies on the relationship among communication ability, critical thinking ability, self-efficacy, and problem-solving ability [7]. In addition, in order to maintain close relationships with others, it is important to build interpersonal relationships, as university students are required to communicate and cooperate by participating in various teaching methods.

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between college students’ interpersonal relationship skills and 4C core competency. We intend to communicate and cooperate through teaching methods that can cultivate 4C core competencies in school education. In addition, it is intended to be used as basic data to prepare classes or programs that can improve interpersonal skills.

This study was aimed to investigate the association between interpersonal relationships and 4C(communication, critical thinking, collaborative self-efficacy, and creative problem-solving) core competencies of dental hygiene students.

This study identified the relationship between students’ interpersonal skills and their communication skills, critical thinking skills, collaborative self-efficacy, and creative problem-solving abilities.

In this study, the interpersonal ability of dental hygiene students was found to be 3.25 points, critical thinking ability was the highest at 3.43 points among 4C core competencies, creative problem-solving ability 3.42 points, cooperative self-efficacy 3.41 points, and communication ability was 3.18 points.

In the Bak [14] study, the communication ability score of nursing students was 3.93 points, and the communication and interpersonal ability scores of Na and Na [1] college students in nursing and health were 3.39 and 3.38 points, respectively. These were higher than the results of this study. Communication is the most important basic skill required for dental hygienists to become professional dental hygienists. In addition, interpersonal competence was reported to be significantly different in major satisfaction and clinical practice satisfaction [15]. Interpersonal skills are also expected to have a positive effect on class participation.

Factors affecting communication ability were interpersonal orientation (p<0.01) and confidence building (p<0.001). In the study by Bak [14], the factor influencing interpersonal relationships among nursing students was communication ability, which showed similar results. Interpersonal relationships provide a fundamental understanding of the causes of conflict within groups in terms of communication and play an important role in resolving group conflicts. In addition, the improving interpersonal skills of nursing college students was inextricably linked to improving the quality of nursing service [16]. Also reported that dental hygienists interpersonal and communication skills are associated with work and job satisfaction [17].

Therefore, interpersonal competence has long-term consequences, and hence, it is necessary to develop a variety of teaching-learning strategies and interpersonal competency improvement programs in university education and to systematically and continuously manage interpersonal competence.

Factors affecting critical thinking ability were interpersonal orientation (p<0.001), self-expression(p<0.05), and confidence building (p<0.01). Building critical thinking skills requires opportunities for finding and thinking about problems and resolving them [7], as well as sharing them with others with whom one has good interpersonal relationships. Factors affecting creative problem-solving ability were self-confidence (p<0.05), person-oriented (p<0.001), self-expression (p<0.001), and confidence building (p<0.01). Son’s [3] research showed that interpersonal relationships among college students had a positive effect on their problem-solving ability. When college students find difficulties in problem solving, it has been found that they tend to work alone or avoid solving the problem if they do not have interpersonal skills [3]. Therefore, program must be developed to facilitate interpersonal relationships among college students so that they learn to express their opinions confidently and to build confidence in others. This would help them in the problem recognition, problem analysis, and the problem-solving processes. In addition, improving interpersonal abilities of dental hygiene students can have a significant effect on improving the quality of their future dental hygiene service.

Factors affecting cooperative self-efficacy were interpersonal orientation (p<0.05) and confidence building (p<0.001). Self-efficacy is developed when students actively participate in achieving their goals and fulfill their roles in a given environment [9]. In addition, group teaching, as one of the teaching and learning methods, will help students share learning through discussion, thereby increasing their level of cooperative self-efficacy by organizing and evaluating group members’ opinions [7]. Hence, there is a need for skills and quality education in interpersonal relationships. Furthermore, Dental hygienists will most likely have time to share opinions through discussions with members of the organization to solve problems and share opinions by team. In other words, it is believed that it will have a positive effect on the core competencies required in the 4th Industrial Revolution only when the interpersonal skills are smoothly implemented.

This study also has its own limitations in that there is a limit to generalizing the results of the random sampling since we only considered students of dental hygiene from some parts of Busan. Subsequent research will need to expand the area and research subjects, and it will be necessary to develop and apply interpersonal skills improvement programs and to clarify their causal relationship to 4C core competencies.

1. For a smooth approach to develop interpersonal skills among college students, various teaching methods and programs must be implemented to improve 4C core competencies within the school.

2. By developing a sense of trust in others through effective communication and cooperation, efficient work can be achieved. Furthermore, improving the interpersonal ability of dental hygiene students will have a positive effect on the quality of their dental hygiene services.

3. This study suggests that interpersonal competence is a factor affecting communication ability, critical thinking ability, creative problem-solving ability, and cooperative self-efficacy.

4. Interpersonal competence was a factor influencing 4C core competencies, this study aimed to provide basic data for developing systematic programs and education systems that can effectively develope interpersonal competency and 4C core competencies.