Children's Social Preferences Research Articles

Examining the relationship between social withdrawal motivations and symptoms of hikikomori

Objective: This study aimed to examine the association between social withdrawal motivations (peer isolation, shyness, unsociability, low mood, and avoidance) and symptoms of hikikomori using both variable- and person-oriented analyses. Method: Adolescents (N = 212) participated in this cross-sectional study. Data were collected using the Social Withdrawal Motivations Scale and the Avoidance subscale of the Child Social Preference Scale-Revised, the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire, the Personality Inventory for the DSM-5 Brief Form, and the Interpersonal sensitivity subscale of the Brief Symptom Inventory. Results: Path analysis revealed that peer isolation, shyness, unsociability, and avoidance were associated with symptoms of hikikomori while covarying for age, sex, maladaptive personality, and interpersonal sensitivity. Cluster analysis based on social withdrawal motivations identified four subtypes of adolescents. The group with high social withdrawal motivations showed the highest level of overall personality dysfunction and interpersonal sensitivity. Additionally, the group with high social withdrawal motivations and the group with high avoidance demonstrated higher symptoms of hikikomori compared to the other two groups, after accounting for the effects of the covariates. Conclusions: The findings highlight that the evaluation of co-occurrent social withdrawal motivations may improve the ability to identify those adolescents most in need of support.

Navigating accent bias in German: children's social preferences for a second-language accent over a first-language regional accent

Spoken language conveys rich sociolinguistic information about a speaker's language background. Previous research indicates that both monolingual and bilingual children use this information when making social decisions. They prefer local speakers whose accent or variety matches their own over speakers of foreign languages or second-language speakers. What remains unclear is how exposure to diverse linguistic communities affects children's preferences for non-local accents. This study examines social preferences for a regional and a second-language accent as a function of prior exposure to diverse accents and languages, measured on a continuous scale. German-speaking primary-school children (aged 7–10) were asked to choose stickers in a forced-choice task using animated cartoon characters. We replicated the observed social preferences for one's local accent. Interestingly, when the local accent was absent, children socially preferred a second-language accent (American) over a first-language regional accent (Bavarian), even though both accents were equally intelligible and relatively unfamiliar to the children, as determined through a sentence repetition task and a geographical classification task. Children's choices were not explained by continuous measures of accent or bilingual exposure. The results suggest a complex interaction of various factors not limited to the speakers' first- or second-language status.

Common and distinct equity preferences in children and adults.

Fairness plays a crucial role in children's social life and has garnered considerable attention. However, previous research and theories primarily examined the development of children's fairness behaviors in the conflict between self-interest motivation and fairness-complying motivation, neglecting the influence of advantage-seeking motivation. Moreover, despite the well-established role of gain/loss frame in human decision-making, it remains largely unclear whether the framing effect modulates fairness behaviors in children. It was hypothesized that children would exhibit advantage-seeking motivation resulting in more selfish behaviors in the loss context. To examine the hypothesis, we combined an adapted dictator game and computational modeling to investigate various motivations underlying fairness behaviors of children in both loss and gain contexts and to explore the developmental directions by contrasting children and adults. In addition, the current design enabled the dissociation between fairness knowledge and behaviors by asking participants to decide for themselves (the first-party role) or for others (the third-party role). This study recruited a total of 34 children (9-10 years, Mage = 9.82, SDage = 0.38, 16 females) and 31 college students (Mage = 19.81, SDage = 1.40, 17 females). The behavioral results indicated that children behaved more selfishly in first-party and more fairly in third-party than adults, without any significant framing effects. The computational results revealed that both children and adults exhibited aversion to advantageous and disadvantageous inequity in third-party. However, they showed distinct preferences for advantageous inequity in first-party, with advantage-seeking preferences among children and aversion to advantageous inequity among adults. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of children's social preferences and their developmental directions.

Too much of a good thing? Linking overparenting and Chinese young children’s social preference

ABSTRACT Overparenting is an emerging topic in parenting research and has gained increasing attention in media. Most studies have focused on adolescents and young adults in Western countries, while it remains unclear whether overparenting is related to young children’s outcomes in non-Western contexts. The present study aimed to examine the mechanism by which overparenting was associated with Chinese young children’s social preference. The study surveyed 283 Chinese parents of children aged 36–83 months (mean age = 58.61) to examine parenting practices and child social preference. The results suggested that parents’ psychological control and parent–child relationship had serial mediating effects on the relationship between overparenting and young children’s social preference in terms of shyness and unsociability. The present study further raised the importance of parenting during early childhood and generated practical implications for parents in China and beyond, encouraging parents to reflect on how their beliefs and practices may influence child outcomes from the early years.

The direction of the relation between oral communicative competence and social preference in early childhood classrooms, and the role of dialogic classroom talk

ObjectiveThe present study investigated the direction of the relation between oral communicative competence and social preference in early childhood classrooms. Additionally, we explored the role of dialogic classroom talk in this relation. MethodsN = 311 children (aged four to seven) participated. Oral communicative competence was measured with the Nijmegen Test for Pragmatics and social preference was assessed with a peer nomination method (both constructs measured at two timepoints). ResultsOutcomes of cross-lagged analyses demonstrated a directional link from social preference to oral communicative competence, but not the other way around. There were no differences in the relation between the two constructs between classrooms in which dialogic classroom talk was implemented and classrooms in which it was not. ConclusionThis study seems to indicate the importance of children's social preference for developing adequate communicative abilities.

Engaging White parents to address their White children's racial biases in the Black-White context.

Multiple studies (n=1065 parents, 625 females, 437 males, 3 nonbinary, 99.06% White; n=80, 5 to 7-year-old children, 35 girls, 45 boys, 87.50% White; data collection September 2017-January 2021) investigated White U.S. parents' thinking about White children's Black-White racial biases. In Studies 1-3, parents reported that their own and other children would not express racial biases. When predicting children's social preferences for Black and White children (Study 2), parents underestimated their own and other children's racial biases. Reading an article about the nature, prevalence, and consequences of White children's racial biases (Study 3) increased parents' awareness of, concern about, and motivation to address children's biases (relative to a control condition). The findings have implications for engaging White parents to address their children's racial biases.

Children's Navigation of Contextual Cues in Peer Transgressions: The Role of Aggression Form, Transgressor Gender, and Transgressor Intention.

When faced with transgressions in their peer groups, children must navigate a series of situational cues (e.g., type of transgression, transgressor gender, transgressor intentionality) to evaluate the moral status of transgressions and to inform their subsequent behavior toward the transgressors. There is little research on which cues children prioritize when presented together, how reliance on these cues may be affected by certain biases (e.g., gender norms), or how the prioritization of these cues may change with age. To explore these questions, 138 5- to 7-year-olds (younger children) and 8- to 10-year-olds (older children) evaluated a series of boy and girl characters who partook in physical or relational aggression with ambiguous or purposeful intent. Children were asked to provide sociomoral evaluations (i.e., acceptability, punishment, and intention attribution judgments) and social preferences. Transgressor gender only impacted children’s social preferences. Conversely, aggression form and transgressor intent shifted children’s sociomoral judgments: they were harsher toward physical transgressors with purposeful intent over those with ambiguous intent but made similar evaluations for relational transgressors regardless of intentionality. The present results suggest that gender is perhaps not uniformly relevant to children across all contexts, as other cues were prioritized for children’s sociomoral judgments. Since children likely have less familiarity with relational aggression compared to physical aggression, it follows that intent would only shift judgments about physical transgressors. This research provides insight about how children simultaneously navigate multiple cues in aggression contexts, which is likely reflective of their real-world experiences.

Mental health problems moderate the association between teacher violence and children's social status in East Africa: A multi-informant study combining self- and peer-reports.

School victimization has been negatively associated with children's social status. However, previous studies have primarily focused on peer victimization, leaving a significant knowledge gap regarding violence by teachers. We hypothesized that, when almost all children experience violence by teachers, not only the experience of violence, but also other factors, for example, mental health problems, may influence children's social preference and centrality. We therefore examined potential moderation effects of children's internalizing and externalizing problems. We implemented a multistage cluster randomized sampling approach to randomly chose fifth- and sixth-grade students from primary schools throughout Tanzania. Using a multi-informant approach, data were collected from 643 children (51.0% girls, Mage = 12.79 years). Results showed inconsistent direct associations between teacher violence and social status, whereas mental health problems were consistently associated with lower social status. Significant interaction effects were found for internalizing problems; that is, teacher violence was associated with lower social status for increasing internalizing problems. However, no interaction effects were found for externalizing problems. The findings underline the burden of exposure to violence by teachers and the importance of mental health for children's social functioning. Knowledge about interrelations can be applied in interventions to effectively reduce violence by teachers toward students.

Causal Explanations for Weight Influence Children's Social Preferences: Biological-Essentialist Explanations Reduce, and Behavioral Explanations Promote, Preferences for Thin Friends.

The current study experimentally investigated the impact of causal-explanatory information on weight bias over development. Participants (n=395, children ages 4-11years and adults) received either a biological or behavioral explanation for body size, or neither, in three between-subjects conditions. Participants then made preference judgments for characters with smaller versus larger body sizes. Results showed that both behavioral and biological explanations impacted children's preferences. Relative to children's baseline preferences, behavioral explanations enhanced preferences for smaller characters, and biological explanations reduced these preferences-unlike the typical facilitative impact of biological-essentialist explanations on other biases. The explanations did not affect adults' preferences. In contrast to previous findings, we demonstrate that causal knowledge can impact weight bias early in development.

The Effects of Race, Gender, and Gender-Typed Behavior on Children's Friendship Appraisals.

From a young age, children's peer appraisals are influenced by the social categories to which peers belong based on factors such as race and gender. To date, research regarding the manner in which race- and gender-related factors might interact to influence these appraisals has been limited. The present study employed an experimental vignette paradigm to investigate the relative influences of target peers' race, gender, and gender-typed behavior toward 4- to 6-year-old Chinese children's (N = 119, 62 girls, 57 boys) peer appraisals. Appraisals were assessed via (1) a rating scale measuring children's interest in being friends with a range of hypothetical target peers varying in race, gender, and gender-typed behavior, and (2) a forced-choice rank-order task in which children indicated their preferences for four hypothetical target peers who varied from themselves on either race, gender, or gender-typed behavior, or were similar to themselves on all three traits. There was little evidence to suggest children's rank-ordered peer preferences in relation to race were influenced by whether the other-race presented was White (preferred relatively more) or Black (preferred relatively less). In contrast, gender-related factors (i.e., rater gender, target gender, target gender-typed behavior) had more robust influences on peer preferences for both outcome measures. Gender-conforming peers were preferred over gender-nonconforming peers, and target boys displaying feminine behavior were less preferred than target girls displaying masculine behavior. The results help characterize cross-cultural (in)consistencies in children's social preferences in relation to peers' race and gender.

Does parenting correspond with children's defending behavior? Examining linkages in the context of peer social preference

AbstractBullying intervention research points to the important role of children standing up for victims (defending behavior). This study provides an initial look at how certain parenting practices may be generally related to the socialization of defending behavior among children. Defenders typically enjoy significant social status, allowing them the social capital to intervene. With this in mind, we also assess how parenting and children's social preference scores might uniquely or interactively predict defending behavior. This cross‐sectional study employs a sample of 219 (101 boys) fourth‐grade children living in the Western United States. Both mothers and fathers self‐reported their authoritative, authoritarian, and psychologically controlling parenting practices. A peer sociometric assessment provided each child's social preference score. Peer nominations provided each child's reputation for defending behaviors. Multiple regression results showed that a few of the parenting dimensions significantly predicted girls’ defending behavior above and beyond peer social preference. In contrast, the defending behavior scores of boys were unrelated to parenting. Finally, we used interaction analyses to probe whether the association between defending and parenting meaningfully varies according to children's levels of social preference. We did not find evidence to support this. We discuss the ramifications of these findings for future research.

Linking Rejection Sensitivity, Shyness and Unsociability with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Psychiatric Co-Morbidity among Chinese Adolescents.

This study investigated whether rejection sensitivity (RS), shyness and unsociability would positively correlate with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and psychiatric co-morbidity and whether shyness and unsociability would mediate the impact of RS on distress outcomes. Four hundred and one adolescents from three middle schools in China completed a demographic questionnaire, Children's Rejection Sensitivity Questionnaire, Children's Shyness Questionnaire, Child Social Preference Scale, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5, and the General Health Questionnaire-28. The results showed that RS and shyness were mostly correlated with PTSD and psychiatric co-morbidity whereas unsociability was not and therefore not a mediator. Shyness, on the other hand, mediated the impact of angry RS and anxious RS on PTSD, as well as anxious RS on psychiatric co-morbidity. To conclude, the severity of PTSD along with other psychological difficulties tends to increase for those who are shy and sensitive to rejection.

Development of the Stanford Social Dimensions Scale: initial validation in autism spectrum disorder and in neurotypicals

BackgroundThe aim of this paper was to provide an initial validation of a newly developed parent questionnaire—the Stanford Social Dimensions Scale (SSDS), designed to capture individual differences across several key social dimensions including social motivation in children and adolescents with and without psychiatric disorders.MethodsThe initial validation sample was comprised of parents of 175 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (35 females, 140 males; Mage = 7.19 years, SDage = 3.96) and the replication sample consisted of 624 parents of children who were either typically developing or presented with a range of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders (302 females, 322 males; Mage = 11.49 years, SDage = 4.48). Parents from both samples completed the SSDS and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS-2).ResultsExploratory Structural Equation Modeling indicated that a 5-factor model provided adequate to excellent fit to the data in the initial ASD sample (comparative fit index [CFI] = .940, Tucker-Lewis Index [TLI] = .919, root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = .048, standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = .038). The identified factors were interpreted as Social Motivation, Social Affiliation, Expressive Social Communication, Social Recognition, and Unusual Approach. This factor structure was further confirmed in Sample 2 (CFI = 946, TLI = .930, RMSEA = .044, SRMR = .026). Internal consistency for all subscales was in the good to excellent range across both samples as indicated by Composite Reliability scores of ≥ .72. Convergent and divergent validity was strong as indexed by the pattern of correlations with relevant SRS-2 and Child Behavior Checklist domains and with verbal and non-verbal intellectual functioning scores in Sample 1 and with the Need to Belong Scale and Child Social Preference Scale scores in Sample 2. Across both samples, females had higher social motivation and expressive social communication scores. Discriminant validity was strong given that across all SSDS subscales, the ASD sample had significantly higher impairment than both the typically developing group and the group with other clinical conditions, which in turn, had significantly higher impairment than the typically developing group.ConclusionsOur findings provide initial validation of a new scale designed to comprehensively capture individual differences in social motivation and other key social dimensions in ASD.

Foundations of infants' social group evaluations.

Previous research has suggested that infants exhibit a preference for familiar over unfamiliar social groups (e.g., preferring individuals from their own language group over individuals from a foreign language group). However, because past studies often employ forced-choice procedures, it is not clear whether infants' intergroup preferences are driven by positivity toward members of familiar groups, negativity toward members of unfamiliar groups, or both. Across six experiments, we implemented a habituation procedure to independently measure infants' positive and negative evaluations of speakers of familiar and unfamiliar languages. We report that by 1 year of age, infants positively evaluate individuals who speak a familiar language, but do not negatively evaluate individuals who speak an unfamiliar language (Experiments 1 and 2). Several experiments rule out lower-level explanations (Experiments 3-6). Together these data suggest that children's early social group preferences may be shaped by positive evaluations of familiar group(s), rather than negative evaluations of unfamiliar groups.

Monolingual and bilingual children's social preferences for monolingual and bilingual speakers.

Past research has shown that young monolingual children exhibit language-based social biases: they prefer native language to foreign language speakers. The current research investigated how children's language preferences are influenced by their own bilingualism and by a speaker's bilingualism. Monolingual and bilingual 4- to 6-year-olds heard pairs of adults (a monolingual and a bilingual, or two monolinguals) and chose the person with whom they wanted to be friends. Whether they were from a largely monolingual or a largely bilingual community, monolingual children preferred monolingual to bilingual speakers, and native language to foreign language speakers. In contrast, bilingual children showed similar affiliation with monolingual and bilingual speakers, as well as for monolingual speakers using their dominant versus non-dominant language. Exploratory analyses showed that individual bilinguals displayed idiosyncratic patterns of preference. These results reveal that language-based preferences emerge from a complex interaction of factors, including preference for in-group members, avoidance of out-group members, and characteristics of the child as they relate to the status of the languages within the community. Moreover, these results have implications for bilingual children's social acceptance by their peers.

Shared cultural knowledge: Effects of music on young children’s social preferences

Adults use cultural markers to discern the structure of the social landscape. Such markers may also influence the social preferences of young children, who tend to conform to their own group and prefer others who do so. However, the forces that propel these preferences are unknown. Here, we use social preferences based on music to investigate these forces in four- and five-year-old children. First, we establish that children prefer other children whose favorite songs are familiar to them. Then we show that this effect depends on shared knowledge: children both prefer others who know songs they themselves know, and avoid others who know songs they do not know, irrespective of the target children’s liking of the songs. These results suggest that young children have a remarkably selective sensitivity to shared cultural knowledge. Shared knowledge may be a powerful determinant of children’s social preferences, both because it underpins effective communication and because it is conveyed by others through social interactions and therefore can serve as a marker of social group identity.

Young Children's Preferences: Gender, Race, and Social Status

AbstractIn this article, I consider how two aspects of society—social categories (in particular, gender and race) and social status—guide young children's preferences. Research on children's social categories reveals that gender‐based social preferences emerge earlier than race‐based preferences. Recent studies also show that children are attuned to social status, and the association of race with status differences could explain why race influences children's social preferences. I conclude with questions and suggestions for research.

Conceptualization and Assessment of Multiple Forms of Social Withdrawal in Turkey

AbstractWe examined the meaning, assessment, and implications of different forms of social withdrawal in Turkey across two studies. In study 1, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with children, mothers, and teachers to identify descriptors of social withdrawal. Shyness and unsociability were confirmed through content analyses, and regulated withdrawal, a new subtype characterized by overregulation of behaviors and suppression of own desires during social interactions, was revealed. Based on these findings, the child social preference scale, an established North American measure of social withdrawal, was revised. In study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 599 9–11‐year‐old children revealed three distinct forms of social withdrawal. Shyness was related to a wider range of child adjustment difficulties than unsociability and regulated withdrawal, although all forms of withdrawal were associated with child adjustment difficulties, providing support for the importance of children's active involvement in social relationships for their positive development and well‐being.

Aggression and prosocial behaviors in social conflicts mediating the influence of cold social intelligence and affective empathy on children's social preference.

This study proposes a model in which aggressive and prosocial behaviors exhibited in social conflicts mediate the influence of empathy and social intelligence to children's social preference by same-sex peers. Data were obtained from kindergarten to the end of the first grade. The sample yielded 117 Spanish children (64 girls and 53 boys) with a mean age of 62.8 months (SD = 3.3) at the beginning of the study. For boys, affective empathy contributed to boys' social preference through a decrease in physical aggression as responses to social conflict. For girls, affective empathy had an indirect effect on girls' preference by increasing assistance to others in their conflicts. No mediating effect in the contribution of social intelligence on girls' social preference was detected. Our results suggest that, only for girls, cold social intelligence can promote both indirect aggression (coercive strategic that do not leave social preference, at least at these ages) and behaviors that lead social preference (such as prosocial behaviors).

CHILDREN'S POSITIVE SCHOOL BEHAVIORS AND SOCIAL PREFERENCE IN URBAN ELEMENTARY CLASSROOMS

This study examined the associations between prosocial and academically oriented behaviors and social preference as a function of individual (i.e., gender), developmental (i.e., grade) and contextual factors (i.e., group descriptive norms). Data were gathered from a sample of 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade children (51% male, 97.5% African American) in 34 classrooms from high‐poverty inner‐city neighborhoods. Multilevel analyses indicated that individual, developmental, and contextual factors moderated the association between children's prosocial and academically oriented behaviors and social preference. Taken together, results from this study support theoretical models emphasizing the relational and contextual nature of children's social preference in the peer group.