A Person‐Oriented Analysis of Social Withdrawal in Chinese Children

The goal of this study was to compare the socio‐emotional and academic adjustment of different subtypes of socially withdrawn (shy, unsociable, avoidant) school‐age children in mainland China. Participants were N = 1344 children ages 10–12 years from public elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multi‐source assessment included: child self‐reports of social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing difficulties (e.g., depression, social anxiety); peer nominations of children's peer relations (e.g., peer victimization, peer preference); and teacher ratings of children's school adjustment (e.g., academic success, internalizing problems). Results from person‐oriented analyses indicated that socially avoidant (i.e., shy‐unsociable) children reported the most pervasive internalizing difficulties compared to other groups. However, in contrast to findings among Western samples, unsociable children were as likely to have peer and academic difficulties as their shy and socially avoidant peers. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different subtypes of social withdrawal among children in collectivistic societies such as China.     

Understanding Solitude: Young Children's Attitudes and Responses Toward Hypothetical Socially Withdrawn Peers

The goal of the present study was to explore young children's attitudes and responses to different forms of social withdrawal by eliciting responses to hypothetical vignettes. Participants included 137 children (49 boys, 88 girls) in kindergarten and grade 1 classes (M_age = 75.94 months, SD = 9.03) in Ottawa, Canada. Parents rated child characteristics, including shyness, unsociability and aggression. Children were also interviewed individually and presented with a series of hypothetical vignettes describing the behaviors of shy, unsociable, aggressive and socially competent children. In response to each vignette, children were asked a series of questions designed to assess their perceptions, attitudes and responses toward each child behavior. Results suggested that young children made surprisingly sophisticated distinctions between shyness and unsociability, demonstrating differences in terms of attributions of behavioral intent, liking and sympathetic responses. In addition, unsociable children evidenced a distinct pattern of responses to hypothetical peers. These findings add to the growing body of research distinguishing different forms of social withdrawal, and shed some light as to why unsociability in early childhood may not be so benign.     

The Social Cognitions of Socially Withdrawn Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the social cognitions of peer‐identified socially withdrawn children. Participants included 457 children from grades four, five and six (54% females, 46% males). Children completed a selection of self‐ and peer‐report measures including: (1) peer‐rated behavioral nominations; (2) hostile intent biases and social responses to ambiguous situations; (3) social goals and self‐efficacy; and (4) a newly developed measure of causal attributions. An extreme groups procedure was used to identify three groups of children: (1) socially withdrawn (n=50); (2) aggressive (n=53); and (3) a comparison group (n=206). As compared with their peers, withdrawn children displayed a pattern of self‐defeating attributions for social situations, reported lower efficacy for assertive goals, and indicated a preference for non‐assertive, withdrawn strategies to deal with hypothetical conflict situations. Findings are discussed with respect to implications for interventions, and directions for further research are presented.     

Going It Alone: Comparing Subtypes of Withdrawal on Indices of Adjustment and Maladjustment in Emerging Adulthood

Scholars have distinguished conceptually between multiple forms of social withdrawal among children and adolescents, but this distinction has yet to be investigated fully during emerging adulthood. Therefore, the overarching goal of this study was to employ a person‐oriented approach to examine differences between subtypes of withdrawal on indicators of internalizing issues and relationships in emerging adulthood. The sample for the current study (M_age = 19.60, SD = 1.85, range = 18–29) consisted of 791 undergraduate students (548 women, 243 men). Results revealed that three distinct forms of social withdrawal (shyness, avoidance, unsociable) can be identified in emerging adulthood, with each one uniquely related to indices of maladjustment in regard to internalizing problems and relationship difficulties. In general, both shy and avoidant individuals reported more problems of an internalizing nature and in their relationships. Far fewer problems appear to exist for unsociable individuals.     

Co‐occurrence of and cross‐informant agreement on shyness,unsociability, and social avoidance during early adolescence

We investigated the co‐occurrence of and cross‐informant agreement on early adolescents’ shyness, unsociability, and avoidance measured by self‐ and peer reports for fifth to eighth graders (N = 383; 51% male) in the United States. Avoidance was significantly and positively associated with shyness and unsociability based on peer reports and self‐reports. Furthermore, 45% and 30% of peer‐ and self‐reported withdrawn adolescents had multiple motivations for withdrawal, suggesting prevalent co‐occurrence of withdrawal subtypes. Cross‐informant agreement was moderate for shyness and weak for unsociability and avoidance. We draw attention to the complexity of motivations underlying withdrawal, theorize about subtype co‐occurrence, and discuss challenges and opportunities related to peer‐reported unsociability and avoidance.     

Active emotion regulation mediates links between shyness and social adjustment in preschool

Shyness is characterized by the experience of heightened fear, anxiety, and social‐evaluative concerns in social situations and is associated with increased risk for social adjustment difficulties. Previous research suggests that shy children have difficulty regulating negative emotions, such as anger and disappointment, which contributes to problems interacting with others. However, it remains unclear precisely which strategies are involved among these associations. Accordingly, the goal of this study was to explore the mediating role of emotion regulation strategies in the links between young children’s shyness and social adjustment at preschool. Participants were 248 preschool children aged 2.5–5 years. Parents rated children’s shyness and emotion regulation strategies in the context of anger and fear. Early childhood educators assessed indices of social adjustment 4 months later. Among the results, active regulation mediated associations between shyness and subsequent prosocial and socially withdrawn behaviors. Child gender further moderated these linkages, such that the model predicting socially withdrawn behavior was stronger among boys. These results expand on our understanding of emotion regulation strategies in shy children’s early socio‐emotional development.     

Young Children's Affective Responses to Acceptance and Rejection From Peers: A Computer‐based Task Sensitive to Variation in Temperamental Shyness and Gender

This study presents a novel task examining young children's affective responses to evaluative feedback—specifically, social acceptance and rejection—from peers. We aimed to determine (1) whether young children report their affective responses to hypothetical peer evaluation predictably and consistently, and (2) whether young children's responses to peer evaluation vary as a function of temperamental shyness and gender. Four‐ to seven‐year‐old children (N = 48) sorted pictures of unknown, similar‐aged children into those with whom they wished or did not wish to play. Computerized peer evaluation later noted whether the pictured children were interested in a future playdate with participants. Participants then rated their affective responses to each acceptance or rejection event. Children were happy when accepted by children with whom they wanted to play, and disappointed when these children rejected them. Highly shy boys showed a wider range of responses to acceptance and rejection based on initial social interest, and may be particularly sensitive to both positive and negative evaluation. Overall, the playdate task captures individual differences in affective responses to evaluative peer feedback and is potentially amenable to future applications in research with young children, including pairings with psychophysiological measures.     

Differences in adolescents’ motivations for indirect,direct, and hybrid peer defending

Adolescents’ defending of peers who are being bullied—or peer defending—was recently found to be a heterogeneous behavioral construct. The present study investigated individual differences in adolescents’ motivations for executing these indirect, direct, and hybrid defending behaviors. In line with the literature on bullying as goal‐directed strategic behavior, we adopted a social evolution theory framework to investigate whether these peer‐defending behaviors could qualify as goal‐directed strategic prosocial behaviors. A sample of 549 Dutch adolescents (49.4% boys; M_age = 12.5 years, SD = 0.6 years) participated in this study. Their peer reported defending behaviors (including bullying behavior as a control variable) and the following behavioral motivations were assessed: (a) agentic and communal goals (self‐report), (b) prosocial and coercive social strategies (peer report), and (c) altruistic and egocentric motivations for prosocial behavior (self‐report). The outcomes of hierarchical linear regression analyses suggest that adolescents’ motivations for executing the different subtypes of peer defending partially overlap but are also different. While indirect defending was fostered by genuine concerns for victims’ well‐being, direct defending was more motivated by personal gains. Hybrid defending combined favorable aspects of both indirect and direct defending as a goal‐directed, strategic, and altruistically motivated prosocial behavior. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Stability and Change in Kindergartners' Friendships: Examination of Links with Social Functioning

Stability and change in kindergartners' friendships were examined based on a typology of profiles (stable, fluid, loss, gain, friendless). Our purpose was to determine whether children belonging to the five profiles differed in their social functioning. The sample was composed of 2353 kindergartners. Reciprocal friendships and social functioning indices were measured using peer nominations collected in October and May of the same year. A series of repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that children in the friendless profile were less accepted by their peers, more shy, more withdrawn, and more aggressive than other children. Moreover, children in the stable profile were significantly more accepted by their peers, more prosocial, and less shy than children in the fluid profile. Lastly, children in the loss profile became less accepted by their peers and less prosocial over the course of the year whereas children in the gain profile became more accepted and prosocial.     

Socially Anxious Children at Risk for Victimization: The Role of Personality

This study examines whether Big Five personality traits affect the extent to which a socially anxious child will be victimized. A total of 1814 children participated in the study (mean age = 11.99 years). Children completed self‐reports and peer reports of victimization, which were aggregated, and self‐reports of social anxiety and Big Five personality traits. A regression analysis was performed to study the moderating effect of personality traits on the relation between social anxiety and victimization. Socially anxious children scoring high on extraversion are less at risk for victimization than socially anxious children scoring low on extraversion. In addition, socially anxious boys scoring high on agreeableness were less at risk for victimization than socially anxious boys scoring low on agreeableness. Conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience did not moderate the relation between social anxiety and victimization.     

Unsociability in Chinese adolescents: Cross‐informant agreement and relations with social and school adjustment

We examined cross‐informant agreement of unsociability and associations of unsociability with social and school adjustment. Participants were 229 (48% girls; M _age = 14.25, SD = .78 years) seventh‐ and eighth‐graders in Liaoning, China. Unsociability and shyness were assessed with self‐reports and peer nominations. Social and school adjustment data were obtained from multiple sources (self‐, peer‐, teacher‐reports). Peer‐reported unsociability was not significantly correlated with self‐reported unsociability, but was positively correlated with self‐reported shyness. Path models indicated that controlling for shyness and demographic covariates, peer‐, but not self‐reported, unsociability was associated with low peer acceptance, high peer rejection and exclusion, low school liking, and low academic performance and achievement. The findings suggest that unsociable Chinese adolescents may have multifaceted adjustment difficulties with peers and at school, but only when perceived as unsociable by peers. Methodological and theoretical implications of the results and the lack of correspondence between self‐ and peer‐reports were discussed.     

Sex differences in psychological distress,behavioural and emotional problems,and substance use in young people in out‐of‐home care

The aim of the study was to examine sex differences in self‐reported psychological distress, behavioural and emotional problems, and substance use in young people living in out‐of‐home care (OoHC). One hundred seventy‐six young people aged 12–17 years (females 53.4%) in OoHC in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia, were interviewed. Participants completed self‐report measures: Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the World Health Organization Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test—Youth Version. Girls had more OoHC placement instability over the past year compared with boys (p = .019). Compared with boys, the girls had significantly higher levels of distress (p < .001) (p = .007), were more likely to have self‐reported emotional symptoms (p < .001) and peer relationship problems (p = .043) and were more likely to use sedatives (p = .004). Girls had more psychological distress, behavioural disturbance, and sedative abuse; placement instability might contribute to these problems. Greater integration across OoHC, mental health, and substance use sectors is required. Girls in OoHC may benefit from interventions targeting problems with peer relationship and substance use and supporting prosocial behaviour; such targets may reduce distress and emotional symptoms and possibly prevent longer term problems.     

The Role of Maternal Behavior in the Relation between Shyness and Social Reticence in Early Childhood and Social Withdrawal in Middle Childhood

The moderating effect of maternal behavior in the relations between social reticence and shyness in preschool and subsequent social withdrawal was investigated. Eighty children (47 females) were judged for degree of social reticence during play with unfamiliar peers at the age of four and mothers completed the Colorado child temperament inventory (CCTI). At the age of seven, the children were coded for degree of social withdrawal during peer play and mothers and children were observed during structured and unstructured activities. Two significant interaction effects indicated that maternal report of shyness was a positive predictor of age‐seven social withdrawal when mothers lacked positivity; whereas observed social reticence was associated with higher degrees of social withdrawal when mothers were highly negative. Maternal positivity and negativity differentially influenced the development of social withdrawal in childhood, such that maternal negativity is associated with poor social functioning in children who have an established history of social withdrawal; whereas maternal positivity is associated with better social outcome for preschoolers who are viewed as temperamentally shy.     

Role of Various Fault Attributions and Other Factors in Children's Anticipated Response to Hypothetical Peers With Undesirable Characteristics

Two studies examined the role of various fault attributions and other factors in children's anticipated response to hypothetical peers described as having an undesirable characteristic. The children were found to distinguish among various fault attributions (i.e., general, onset, and perpetuation; study 1), and they tended to agree more strongly that the peers were responsible for the perpetuation than the onset of these characteristics (studies 1 and 2). In study 1, perceiving an aggressive or overweight peer as similar to a friend and believing that the overweight peer will overcome this undesirable characteristic were found to be associated with a relatively favorable response to these peers. The more strongly the children agreed that (1) an aggressive peer is generally at fault for his/her undesirable characteristic (study 1) and (2) peers who are aggressive, overweight, shy, or a poor student are at fault for the onset of their undesirable characteristics (study 2), the less favorably they anticipated responding to these peers. Unexpectedly, attributing responsibility to forces ‘outside the peer's control’ (i.e., parents and biology) for his/her undesirable characteristic in study 2 was not found to be associated with a relatively favorable response to any peer with an undesirable characteristic.     

Popularity and Acceptance as Distinct Dimensions of Social Standing for Chinese Children in Hong Kong

This study attempted to validate distinctions between popularity and social acceptance in the cultural context of Hong Kong. We recruited 280 Chinese children (132 girls, 148 boys, mean age = 9.5) from Hong Kong primary schools. These children completed a peer nomination inventory assessing popularity, social acceptance, social rejection, aggression, peer victimization, and social behavior. Consistent with research conducted in western samples, we found that social acceptance was correlated primarily with positive behavioral characteristics (i.e., assertiveness‐leadership and low levels of submissiveness‐withdrawal). In contrast, popularity was associated with a more mixed pattern of features including high levels of aggression. The overall pattern of findings closely replicates past research conducted in North American and European settings.     

Preschool-aged children's responses to unfairness and subsequent sharing behavior in dyadic contexts

Recent research implicates the importance of social and contextual factors in children's fair behavior. Here, we explored the social and emotional influences that might contribute to fair behavior in young children. We examined 79 pairs of 3- to 5-year-old children (N = 158; 85 female; M = 4.3 years; Range = 3.03–5.54) in a naturalistic sharing interaction to measure their verbal, emotional, and behavioral responses to an unfair distribution of rewards, as well as their subsequent sharing behavior. Children who received fewer rewards responded verbally, behaviorally, and emotionally as predicted, protesting the unfair distribution. However, children who received more rewards either failed to notice their partner's responses, or they failed to consider these responses when given the chance to behave prosocially and correct the unfair distribution. The only cue that predicted prosociality was a negative affective response from the disadvantaged peer.     

The Relations between Infant Negative Reactivity,Non‐maternal Childcare,and Children's Interactions with Familiar and Unfamiliar Peers

The present study examined the influence of children's experiences during non‐maternal childcare on their behavior toward unfamiliar peers. Participants included children classified as negatively reactive at four months of age (N = 52) and children not negatively reactive (N = 61), who were further divided into those who experienced non‐maternal care and those who did not. Children were observed during childcare at 24 months of age and in the laboratory with an unfamiliar peer at 24 and 36 months of age, where their wariness, dysregulation, and social engagement were assessed. Within the negatively reactive childcare group, children's positive interactions with peers during childcare at 24 months predicted lower levels of wariness toward an unfamiliar peer at 36 months. This relation was not significant for children not classified as negatively reactive. The findings suggest that the influence of non‐maternal childcare is dependent on a child's temperament and on the nature of peer interactions during care.     

Someone to Lean on: Assessment and Implications of Social Surrogate Use in Childhood

A social surrogate is a person who helps a shy individual deal with the stresses of a social situation. Previous research has only investigated social surrogate use in adults. The purpose of the current study was to develop and evaluate a new self‐report measure of social surrogacy in middle childhood and to explore the implications of this phenomenon for children's socioemotional functioning. Participants were N = 328 children in grades 3–5 (Mean_age= 9.45, Standard deviation = .93). Children completed the newly developed child social surrogate questionnaire (CSSQ) as well as self‐report assessments of shyness, loneliness, social anxiety, peer victimization, and self‐perceptions. Results indicated good psychometric properties and evidence of construct validity for the CSSQ. Social surrogacy was related to elevated shyness, social anxiety, and victimization. Contrary to expectations, there was also some evidence to suggest that social surrogacy may have particularly negative implications for shy children.     

The relations between maternal mental state talk and preschoolers’ behavioral adaptation and school readiness: moderation by emotion situation knowledge

This study investigated the extent to which associations between mothers' elaborated talk about mental states and preschoolers’ behavioral adaptation (i.e., social competence and internalizing and externalizing behavior) and school readiness were moderated by emotion situation knowledge. Families (N = 120) were mostly middle‐income and White and 70 of the preschoolers (M = 50.65 months, SD = 6.19) were boys. Results revealed a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and social competence, but only for children average and high in emotion situation knowledge. For children low in emotion situation knowledge, there was a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and internalizing behavior. There also was a negative relation between elaborated maternal mental state talk and school readiness for preschoolers low in emotion situation knowledge. Findings highlight the importance of considering emotion situation knowledge when examining associations between elaborated maternal mental state talk and young children’s social behavioral adaptation and readiness for school.