Socio-emotional development in Chinese children

Abstract

Abstract Developmental researchers have observed considerable individual differences in children's socio-emotional functioning. Whereas some children are sociable and cooperative and tend to engage in positive social interactions, others exhibit hostile and defiant behaviours. In the past twenty years, socio-emotional development in Chinese children has received increased attention from researchers in psychology, anthropology, and health science. This article focuses mainly on two fundamental dimensions of socio-emotional functioning, social initiative and control, and the social behaviours that are formed based upon different key dimensions. It discusses some theoretical issues and a conceptual framework concerning culture and socio-emotional development. It also takes on the works on Chinese children's dispositional characteristics in the early years and socio-emotional functioning in childhood and adolescence, mainly from a cross-cultural perspective. Furthermore, it reviews the findings of the studies conducted to examine the implications of macro-level social, economic, and cultural changes in China for socialization and children's socio-emotional functioning.