Chinese American children’s temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization as moderated by maternal praise.

Abstract

Introduction. This study examined the relations between Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and their assertive and submissive responses to peer victimization.The mediating role of children's anxious-withdrawn behavior in the association between their temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization in school settings was assessed, as well as the moderating effect of observed maternal praise. Method. Mothers of 153 Chinese American children (46.4% boys; Mage = 4.40 years, SDage = 0.79 years) reported on their children's temperamental shyness, and teachers rated children's display of anxiouswithdrawn behavior and responses to peer victimization. Mothers' use of praise during their interactions with children in a free-play session was observed. Results. Children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior played a mediating role in the associations between their temperamental shyness and responses to peer victimization. Moreover, maternal praise moderated the relation between children's temperamental shyness and anxious-withdrawn behavior, such that more temperamentally shy children with mothers who used praise more frequently displayed less anxious-withdrawn behavior, which in turn, was associated with more assertiveness and less submissiveness in response to peer victimization. Conclusions. These findings highlight the importance of maternal praise in reducing children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior, which in turn facilitates their capacity to cope with peer victimization.

Annual Research Review: Developmental pathways linking early behavioral inhibition to later anxiety

“…There is some evidence suggesting that findings may be generalizable to at least some cultural groups, particularly if their children are evaluated by the dominant cultural norms (Carlo, Cheah, Conejo, & Cho, 2022). For example, similar to White American children, Asian immigrant children's temperamental shyness was associated with more anxious‐withdrawn behaviors, particularly if they received low praise from their mothers, and anxious‐withdrawn behavior, in turn, was associated with peer exclusion and passive responses to bullying (Gao et al., 2021), and decreased prosociality and leadership skills (Balkaya, Cheah, Yu, Hart, & Sun, 2018). Similarly, ‘anxious shyness’, reflecting an inability to attend group participation, was associated with peer rejection, whereas ‘regulated shyness’, reflecting more reserved and modest behaviors was not (Xu & Krieg, 2014).…”

The Social Development of Immigrant Children

“…Similar to their White American peers, Asian immigrant children's temperamental shyness has been found to be associated with more anxious-withdrawn behavior (Balkaya et al, 2018;Gao et al, 2021). Anxious withdrawn behavior, in turn, is associated with increased peer exclusion and more passive responses to bullying (Gao et al, 2021) and decreased prosocial behaviors and leadership skills (Balkaya et al, 2018) in Chinese immigrant children.…”

“…Similar to their White American peers, Asian immigrant children's temperamental shyness has been found to be associated with more anxious-withdrawn behavior (Balkaya et al, 2018;Gao et al, 2021). Anxious withdrawn behavior, in turn, is associated with increased peer exclusion and more passive responses to bullying (Gao et al, 2021) and decreased prosocial behaviors and leadership skills (Balkaya et al, 2018) in Chinese immigrant children. However, Asian immigrant parents' culturally emphasized socialization messages that encourage children to display humble and modest behaviors may convey their acceptance of children's shy dispositions and buffer against children's temperamental disposition and help shy children display less anxious behaviors and more positive socioemotional adjustment (Balkaya et al, 2018).…”

Protective and Risk Factors of Peer Victimization among Adolescents: A Perspective from Victims

“…The common manifestation is that aggressive actions are carried out other than a rational way to deal with conflicts. Gao and his colleagues revealed the relationship between maternal praise, temporal shyness, and response type against peer victimization [18]. According to their research, children who have a temperamental shyness trait respond to peer victimization with less assertiveness and more submissiveness, which is mediated by anxiouswithdrawn behaviors [18].…”

“…Gao and his colleagues revealed the relationship between maternal praise, temporal shyness, and response type against peer victimization [18]. According to their research, children who have a temperamental shyness trait respond to peer victimization with less assertiveness and more submissiveness, which is mediated by anxiouswithdrawn behaviors [18]. It was also revealed that maternal praise serves as a moderator, alleviating the negative effects of temperamental shyness and decreasing children's submissive compromise to victimization [18].…”