Effects of Shyness on Peer Play Behaviors of Young Children: Focusing on Mediating Effects of Teacher-Child Relationships

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of shyness of 3 to 5-year-olds and the teacher-child relationship on peer play behaviors. For this purpose, a survey was conducted targeting 33 teachers working with 277 three to five-year-olds at child care centers located in Chungbuk, Korea. SPSS 19.0 was used to implement exploratory analyses and hierarchical regression analysis. It was found that children with low sociability and thoes with close relationships with teachers indicated the least play disruption. Children whose assertiveness and sociability were low and whose relationships with teachers were close were likely to do the most play interaction. However, regardless of the level of the lack of assertiveness and of the lack of sociability, children with close relationships with teachers had a higher level of play interaction. Children with a higher level of lack of sociability and in conflict relationships with teachers had a higher level of play disconnection. Findings of this study highlight the importance of considering the interplay of children's shyness and teacher-child relationships in the development of peer play behaviors.

Relationships Between Children’s Shyness, Play Disconnection, and Loneliness: Moderating Effect of Children’s Perceived Child-Teacher Intimate Relationship

“…The mediation analyses revealed that play disconnection mediated the association between child shyness and loneliness. This result is consistent with the findings of earlier research [14,27,30]. As expected, child shyness raises a possibility that children are disconnected from peer play, and thus leads to feelings of loneliness.…”

“…In a similar vein, Rubin et al [29] reported that avoidant children are socially withdrawn and that psychological overcontrol referred as social withdrawal is linked to internalizing difficulties such as depression. Likewise, child shyness was found to be closely linked to children's withdrawn behavior in their social interactions [30], including their peer play. It has been reported that shy children with low levels of assertiveness tend to display disruptive behavior, while their lack of sociability predicts a play disconnection [30].…”

“…Likewise, child shyness was found to be closely linked to children's withdrawn behavior in their social interactions [30], including their peer play. It has been reported that shy children with low levels of assertiveness tend to display disruptive behavior, while their lack of sociability predicts a play disconnection [30]. High levels of shyness are associated with low levels of peer acceptance [31], because shy children likely engage in withdrawn behavior.…”

“…Likewise, teacher-child intimacy may lower the adverse effect of children's negative experiences in peer play on their loneliness. 1 Shy children lacking sociability tend to be disconnected from peer play [30]. Such play disconnection undermines the quality of shy children's peer relationships.…”

“…Therefore, it is necessary to examine factors influencing children's loneliness, in particular relation to children's temperament and relationships with others, including peers and teachers. While earlier research has investigated children's temperament [42] and selfregulation [43], this study focuses on children's shyness, which is a temperamental characteristic adversely affecting social relationships [30]. In addition, considering that children's shyness may predispose them to have negative experiences, such as play disconnection, it is probable that play disconnection creating a physical condition of social loneliness mediates the association between child shyness and loneliness.…”