Shy Children Research Articles

Shyness and empathy in early childhood: Examining links between feelings of empathy and empathetic behaviours.

Although shy children have been described as less empathetic than their more sociable peers, this may be due to a performance rather than a competence deficit. The aim of this study was to explore the moderating role of shyness in the association between empathic feelings and empathic-related reactions. Participants were 212 preschoolers (Mage =58.32months, SD=10.72). Children provided self-reports of empathetic feelings, parents rated child shyness and empathic behaviours (e.g., reparative behaviours), and teachers assessed indices of socio-emotional functioning (e.g., prosocial behaviours). Results revealed interaction effects between empathic feelings and shyness in the prediction of outcome variables. Among children with lower levels of shyness, empathy rated by children was positively related to empathetic and reparative behaviours (rated by parents) and prosocial behaviours (rated by teachers). At higher levels of shyness, these relations were attenuated. These results can be interpreted to suggest that although shy children may not differ from their more sociable counterparts in experiencing empathy, they seem to be less likely to act empathically.

Leading for School Inclusion and Prevention? How School Leadership Teams Support Shy Students and Their Teachers

ABSTRACT School shyness may have immediate and long-term detrimental effects. Drawing on cultural-historical understandings of motivated actions and conceptual and material tools, the study examined how ten school leaders in three Norwegian elementary schools interpreted and responded to the demands on the school in their work with shy children. Data comprised individual interviews and concluding school-based group conversations with leaders. The schools were recognized as enabling teachers’ responsive work with shy children in classrooms and presented a useful tension between central direction by school leaders and the professional discretion that enabled teachers’ responsive pedagogies. The leadership teams’ focus was school inclusion through adaptive pedagogies. This strong focus on inclusion emphasized classroom-based Tier 1 universal interventions. There were Tier 2 targeted interventions with shy children undertaken by social teachers, but they could seem ad-hoc by depending on teachers’ capacity to identify the need for them. The implications for school leadership are discussed.

Mediators of the relationships between shyness and school achievement and fluid intelligence in school-age children

ABSTRACT The aim of the study was to understand the relationship between shyness in school-age children and variables such as teacher perception of school achievement, fluid intelligence and self-efficacy in various areas of functioning. The participants were 466 Polish primary school children (boys n = 239, girls n = 227; M age = 9.55 years, SD =.9). Shyness was negatively associated with school achievement as reported by teachers, fluid intelligence, and self-efficacy. Results from mediation analyses demonstrated that self-efficacy in learning mediated the relationships between shyness and school achievement and fluid intelligence. In addition the relationship between shyness and school achievement was also mediated by the self-efficacy with respect to self-control in school and social situations. The results indicate that shy children’s relatively low school achievement and low scores in various standardised tests may be the result of personality differences, e.g. in self-efficacy. Future studies are needed to explore the relationship between shyness and self-efficacy.

Somebody hit the button! The implicit power motive and the frequency of verbal persuasion behavior in children

We examined the relationship between the implicit power motive (nPow) and the frequency of verbal persuasion behavior (VPB) in dyads of children, while they negotiated a task assignment over a period of 6 min. Sixty-six German children (32 female) aged between 6 and 8 years (M = 7.12, SD = 0.42) participated. First, we assessed children’s implicit power motive by a 6-image Picture Story Exercise (PSE) and had the parents rate their children's shyness via the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ). In a dyadic situation approximately 4 months later, children high in nPow used VPB more frequently, regardless of whether the second child was also high in nPow or not. Additionally, shy children showed less VPB. The implications of these results for implicit motive theory and behavioral research in children are discussed.

Positive Shyness in the Brain: Frontal Electroencephalogram Alpha Asymmetry and Delta-Beta Correlation in Children.

Positive shyness is thought to be an approach-dominant form of shyness, whereas non-positive shyness is thought to be an avoidance-dominant form of shyness. This study examined electrocortical and behavioral correlates of motivation and emotion in relation to these shy subtypes in 67 children (Mage =10.41years, SD=3.23). Using resting state electroencephalography, findings revealed that positive shy and low shy children had greater relative left frontal alpha asymmetry compared to non-positive shy children, and positive shy children had a higher frontal delta-beta correlation compared to other groups. Non-positive shy children scored highest on parent-reported school avoidance. These findings converge with previous work reporting distinct correlates in positive and non-positive shyness, extending this to two brain measures of motivation and emotion.

Revisiting the double-edged sword of self-regulation: Linking shyness, attentional shifting, and social behavior in preschoolers

Although children’s self-regulation has been conceptualized positively, there may be individual differences in self-regulatory processes, some of which might not be adaptive depending on temperamental factors. We examined whether individual differences in children’s self-regulation (i.e., inhibitory control and attentional shifting) moderated the association between shyness and social behavior in multiple social contexts (N = 156 children, 74 girls; Mage = 4.06 years, SD = 0.78). Only in children with high attentional shifting was shyness associated with lower levels of social support seeking during a frustration task and with lower levels of social engagement during a stranger approach task. These results were not attributable to differences in baseline physiological arousal indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia. These findings suggest that for some shy children, high levels of self-regulation may be less adaptive, leading to rigidity or over-control in some social contexts, possibly hindering social interaction.

Young Children’s Temperament and Mother’s Parenting Profile Analysis: The Relevance of Executive Function

Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify young children’s temperaments and their mothers’ corresponding parenting behavior profiles by applying latent profile analysis, and to explore how they relate to young children’s executive functions in each latent profile. Methods Participants included 294 children (146 boys and 148 girls) aged 3–5 years and their mothers. A scale of child temperament: EAS (20 questions), a scale of mother's parenting (34 questions), and a scale of executive functions: brief-p (43 questions) were used. Results Young children’s temperaments and their mothers’ parenting behavior profiles were classified into three groups. They were: ‘negative emotionality child + inconsistent parenting (40%)’, ‘shy child + authoritative parenting (14%)’, and ‘sociable child + authoritative parenting (46%)’. As per the results of the three-step approach, there were significant differences in the executive functions (inhibition, shifting, and working memory) according to the three profiles. Conclusion This study is meaningful because it identified various aspects of a young child’s temperament with respect to his/her mother’s parenting. Identifying differences in the executive functions of young children will also help provide implications for the necessary preventative involvement of young child with various temperament characteristics and mothers. Keywords: child’s temperament, mother’s parenting, child’s executive function, latent profile analysis

Chinese Mothers' Cultural Models of Children's Shyness: Ethnotheories and Socialization Strategies in the Context of Social Change.

Research by Xinyin Chen and others has documented that in past decades, shyness in Chinese children was associated with leadership, peer-acceptance, and academic achievement. In contemporary China, shyness predicts maladaptive youth outcomes. Although social, political, and economic transitions are presumed to be responsible for this shift, little is known about how societal change mediates parents' beliefs and the socialization of shy children. This qualitative study explored implicit parenting cognitions and attitudes about shyness in a Chinese urban middle-class group of mothers (N = 20). Thematic analyses revealed mothers' beliefs about the role of family socialization in the development/maintenance of shyness and the complexities between shyness and introversion. Mothers spoke of increased use of child-centered parenting practices and the promotion of assertive and self-assured traits. These findings highlight how Chinese parenting has contributed to the decline in the adaptive value of shyness, and inform the development of parenting interventions for shy Chinese children.

ПСИХОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ПРОЯВУ СОРОМ’ЯЗЛИВОСТІ У ДІТЕЙ МОЛОДШОГО ДОШКІЛЬНОГО ВІКУ

У статті здійснено теоретичний аналіз проблеми прояву та розвитку сором’язливості у дітей молодшого дошкільного віку, експериментально проаналізовано психологічні детермінанти особистісної сором’язливості у 3-4 річному віці. Теоретичне дослідження продемонструвало, що сором’язливість є різносторонньою якістю особистості, яка зазвичай асоціюється із замкнутістю, невпевненістю, боязливістю, соромом. Дуже часто ранній прояв дитячої сором’язливості залишається непомітним та ототожнюється з інтровертованістю, несміливістю, тривожністю. Серед чинників появи особистісної сором’язливості у дитячому дошкільному віці називають недостатній розвиток комунікативних знань і вмінь, копіювання поведінки одного з членів сім’ї, поведінкову скутість, постійне відчуття тривоги, негативний образ власного «Я». Аналіз психологічних джерел дозволив виділити такі компоненти особистісної сором’язливості молодшого дошкільника: емоційно-оцінний, поведінковий і комунікативний. Ці складові активно розвиваються під час психофізіологічного дозрівання дитини та здійснюють взаємовплив на формування її самооцінки. Важливого значення у цей віковий період набуває також процес автономії, коли дитина починає робити перші самостійні кроки у дорослому світі, намагаючись продемонструвати особистісне «Я». Беззаперечного значення набуває й гармонійний емоційний розвиток молодшого дошкільника, під час якого формується емоційне самоставлення до себе, однолітків і дорослих, а негативний досвід взаємодії може слугувати основою майбутньої недовірливої поведінки дитини. Також варто зазначити, що психологічною особливістю особистісної сором’язливості у молодшому дошкільному віці є майбутня проєкція негативної оцінки оточення і переживання почуття дискомфорту в присутності сторонніх людей.

Shy and outgoing preservice teachers and their responses to hypothetical problem behaviors in the classroom

The present study explored the relations among preservice teacher shyness (shy, average, outgoing) and their responses towards hypothetical children displaying classroom problem behaviours (shy/quiet, exuberant/talkative) in the classroom. Participants were 335 elementary preservice teachers attending a Midwest university in the United States. Preservice teachers completed self-reports of shyness and responded to hypothetical vignettes depicting different classroom behaviours. Among the results, shy preservice teachers reported lower self-efficacy and less tendency to use warm/supportive and social-learning strategies as compared to their more outgoing counterparts. Shy preservice teachers also had lower tendency than average teachers to refer to high-powered strategies when dealing with shy children, but more likely with exuberant children. Results are discussed in terms of the role of personality in teaching.

Teachers’ strategies for enhancing shy children's engagement in oral activities: necessary, but insufficient?

ABSTRACT Shy children can present challenges for teachers aiming at inclusive classrooms. Their educational attainments can be lower than their peers, they may have difficulties in adjustment to school and they can be at risk of meeting clinical criteria for social anxiety disorder. One recurrent finding is that they are often quiet across a range of school situations. The study reported here focused on teachers’ strategies to engage shy students in frequently occurring oral activities, such as group work, in elementary school classrooms. Data were gathered through post-observation stimulated-recall interviews with eight teachers who had experience of success with shy students and three focus groups with 11 similarly experienced teachers. The analysis examined teachers’ actions with these children to enhance their visible engagement in activities that require oral participation. The findings suggest that although teachers attended to the psychosocial aspects of student engagement, there was little emphasis on the pedagogic purposes of oral activities with these children. We conclude that more attention should be paid to the academic aspects of oral activities when aiming at inclusion for shy children.

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.

ПСИХОЛОГІЧНІ ОСОБЛИВОСТІ СОРОМ'ЯЗЛИВОСТІ У ДІТЕЙ ДОШКІЛЬНОГ ОВІКУ

The article provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the psychological characteristics of the manifestation of shyness in preschool children. Analyzed the scientists' views on understanding of the studied phenomenon, the classification of pathological and personal forms of manifestation of personality shyness is considered. The psychological characteristics of "internally" and "externally" shy preschoolers are characterized. The positive and negative influence of shyness on the mental development of a preschool child has been substantiated. Based on a theoretical analysis of psychological literature, has given its own definition of the concept of personal shyness of a preschooler. With the help of the conducted empirical research, the structural components of personal shyness in preschool children were identified. In preschool, shyness can take the form of "internal" or "external" introspection and stimulate the search for optimal ways to overcome negative experiences using primitive isolation, autistic fantasies, etc. In our opinion, shyness in preschool children is an integrated personal quality, which is a component of emotional and volitional behavior of the child and manifests itself in the form of low self-esteem, underdeveloped communication skills, fear, need for external support and intrapersonal conflicts. The components of the self-concept of a shy preschooler have their own specific features: behavioral is characterized by fear of novelty, insecurity, conformity, lack of initiative, neglect of joint play activities, etc .; affective-evaluative component – insecurity, anxiety, timidity, anxiety, loneliness, fear of social contacts, dependence on the assessments of others, emotional vulnerability to failure; the communicative component is characterized by silence, limitations, selectivity or avoidance of interaction, inability to maintain long-term contacts, express their own opinions, etc. The results of our observational experiment showed that the presence of indicators characteristic of a high level of personal shyness was found in 21.15% of preschool children, the average level of formation in 37.63% of subjects and a low level of shyness in preschool age was found in 41.22% of children.

Shyness and Socioemotional Functioning in Young Chinese Children: The Moderating Role of Insecure Attachment

The aim of this short-term longitudinal study was to explore the moderating role of insecure mother–child attachment (i.e., ambivalent and avoidant) in the relations between shyness and indices of adjustment difficulties in early childhood. Participants were 360 children (200 boys and 160 girls, Mage = 4.72 years, SD = 0.63) attending preschools/kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. At Time 1, mothers rated children's shyness and insecure attachment. At Time 2, 1½ years later, teachers assessed children's adjustment outcomes at school. Among the results, shyness was negatively associated with sociability, social competence, and internalizing problems. However, both ambivalent and avoidant insecure attachment significantly moderated these associations, exacerbating the relations between shyness and indices of adjustment difficulties. Results are discussed in terms of the contributions of attachment to young shy children's adjustment outcomes.

Coaching the quiet: Exploring coaches’ beliefs about shy children in a sport context

Organized sports may enhance the social skills and peer relationships of shy children. Interactions with coaches may be critical determinants of these benefits. Thus, our goal was to explore coaches’ beliefs, attitudes, and responses to shy children. Participants were 447 undergraduate students (343 female; Mage = 19.39 years, SD = 2.12) with coaching experience. Participants indicated their anticipated behaviours, emotions, and perceived implications in response to hypothetical children exhibiting shy, unsociable, and verbally exuberant behaviours in a sport context. Coaches viewed shy behaviour more problematically than both verbally exuberant and unsociable behaviours, anticipating the most negative implications for shy children’s peer relationships, development, and team performance and supporting the use of differential coaching strategies. However, despite reporting the most worry about shyness, coaches were less likely to intervene in response to shyness compared to exuberance. We discuss the implications that our results may have for the adjustment of shy children.

The relationship between shyness and aggression: The multiple mediation of peer victimization and security and the moderation of parent–child attachment

Many people empirically believe that shyness, as a withdrawn personality trait, is not correlated or is negatively correlated with aggression, however, previous studies have found that shy individuals show higher levels of aggression. According to the social fitness model, shy children are more likely to be excluded from the outside world and to exist in an internal state of unease. From this perspective, the present study investigated the effects of shyness on aggression by considering peer victimization and security and by finding moderating factors (parent–child attachment) to improve this phenomenon. The sample consisted of 689 children. Questionnaires were utilized to investigate the mediating mechanism of shyness on aggression from the perspective of peer victimization and security in children and the possible moderating effect of parent–child attachment. The results showed that shyness not only directly predicts aggression but also can influence aggression through the multiple mediating effects of peer victimization and security. In addition, we found that mother–child attachment moderated the relationship between shyness and peer victimization and between shyness and security. Father–child attachment moderated the relationship between security and aggression and between shyness and aggression.

Early- and later-developing shyness in children: An investigation of biological and behavioral correlates.

Early theoretical work by Buss (1986a,1986b) posited that there is an early-developing fearful shyness that emerges during toddlerhood, and a later-developing self-conscious shyness that emerges during early childhood. It has been theorized that early-developing shyness is related to fear, rooted in inherited biases, and manifests in contexts of social novelty, whereas later-developing shyness is related to self-conscious emotions, may result from social ridicule or poor social skills, and manifests in contexts of social exposure. Despite the hypothesized correlates of these shyness subtypes, this theory has not been empirically tested in children. We tested 96 children aged 5 to 10years old and classified them into three groups: early-developing shyness (n=28; MAgeOnset =2.4years), later-developing shyness (n=19; MAgeOnset =4.8years), and non-shy (n=49). Findings revealed that children with later-developing shyness had the highest relative cortisol responses in the context of self-presentation, highest levels of embarrassment, and lowest social skills relative to the other groups, while children with early-developing shyness displayed the highest relative resting right frontal brain asymmetry (a neural correlate of fear) relative to the other groups. These preliminary findings provide partial empirical support for the previously theorized correlates and distinction of early-developing and later-developing shyness in childhood.

The children of preterm survivors: shyness, parenting, and parental stress.

Extremely low birth weight (ELBW) survivors have higher rates of shyness, a risk factor for poorer outcomes across the life span. Due to advances in fetal and neonatal medicine, the first generation of ELBW survivors have survived to adulthood and become parents. However, no studies have investigated the transmission of their stress vulnerability to their offspring. We explored this phenomenon using a population-based cohort of ELBW survivors and normal birth weight (NBW) controls. Using data from three generations, we examined whether the shyness and parenting stress of ELBW and NBW participants (Generation 2) mediated the relation between the parenting style of their parents (Generation 1) and shyness in their offspring (Generation 3), and the extent to which exposure to perinatal adversity (Generation 2) moderated this mediating effect. We found that among ELBW survivors, parenting stress (in Generation 2) mediated the relation between overprotective parenting style in Generation 1 (grandparents) and child shyness in Generation 3. These findings suggest that perinatal adversity and stress may be transmitted to the next generation in humans, as reflected in their perceptions of their children as shy and socially anxious, a personality phenotype that may subsequently place their children at risk of later mental and physical health problems.

Shyness, aggression, and empathy in children of shy mothers: Moderating influence of children's psychophysiological self‐regulation

Maternal psychological factors are known to play a critical role in children's socioemotional development, particularly in pro- and anti-social behaviors. Although shyness is a ubiquitous phenomenon and associated with social anxiety, relatively few have examined the relation between maternal shyness and children's socioemotional development. We explored the moderating influence of children's resting respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and RSA change on the relation between maternal shyness and children's shyness, empathy, and aggression in 129 (62 males) typically developing 4- (n=81) and 6- (n=48)year-olds. We found that 6-year-olds' RSA change score from baseline to a cognitive challenge task acted as a moderator on the relation between mother's shyness and child observed empathy but not for maternal report of child aggression or child's observed shyness. These results were not found in the 4-year-olds. Six-year-olds with relatively high RSA change and relatively low maternal shyness displayed the highest levels of empathy. These results suggest that the maternal caregiving environment and biological characteristics of the child may confer individual differences in prosocial behaviors in children. Findings are discussed in terms of age-related differences in socioemotional behaviors in children of shy mothers.

Frontal brain maturation and the stability of children’s shyness

Recent evidence suggests that relative to nonshy children, shy children exhibit a lower overall frontal EEG alpha/delta ratio (ADR) during middle childhood, possibly reflecting relatively less frontal brain maturation at this age. We examined this same ADR measure in relation to the stability of observed shyness and parent-reported child social anxiety measured across two laboratory visits separated by approximately 1year during late childhood in 51 children (33% female, age range 10-16years). We found that the overall frontal ADRscore was significantly lower among children with high, stable observed shyness and parent-reported child social anxiety compared to children in the low, stable class. Findings provide convergent evidence suggesting that the stability of shyness in late childhood may be linked to relatively less overall frontal brain maturation at this age. We speculate on the adaptive function of delaying frontal brain maturation in the origins and maintenance of children's shyness.