Shyness: Subtypes, Psychosocial Correlates, and Treatment Interventions

Jones, Katherine M.; Schulkin, Jay

doi:10.4236/psych.2014.53035

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…One reason why young children may spend time alone at preschool is shyness . Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by children's tendencies to experience wariness, discomfort, and feelings of negative self‐worth in response to real or perceived social evaluation (Jones, Schulkin, & Schmidt, ). Shy children often experience an internal approach–avoidance conflict, whereby their desire to interact with others is simultaneously inhibited by feelings of fear, anxiety, and distress (Coplan, Prakash, O'Neil, & Armer, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young children's perceptions and beliefs about hypothetical shy, unsociable, and socially avoidant peers at school

et al. 2019

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The aim of this study was to explore young children's perceptions, beliefs, and anticipated outcomes about different types of social withdrawal (shyness, unsociability, social avoidance). Participants were N = 212 children (n = 110 boys) aged 2.55–6.37 years (M = 4.86, SD = 0.89) recruited from three preschools and kindergartens in Italy. Children were interviewed individually and asked about hypothetical peers displaying different types of social withdrawal (i.e., shy, unsociable, socially avoidant) and for comparison purposes, aggressive and socially competent behaviors were also assessed. Among the three vignettes depicting types of withdrawn children, children rated the hypothetical shy peer as having the highest social motivations, the unsociable peer as receiving the least sympathy from others, and the avoidant peer as being the least intelligent and least liked by the teacher. In addition, girls reported wanting to play more with the shy peer than boys, and kindergarteners reported a higher affiliative preference for all subtypes of socially withdrawn peers than preschoolers. These findings suggest that Italian young children have a quite sophisticated ability to differentiate among the different social motivations and emotions that may underlie social withdrawal.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Young children's perceptions and beliefs about hypothetical shy, unsociable, and socially avoidant peers at school

et al. 2019

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“…Moreover, shy children tend to avoid social situations more than their non-shy peers. As a result, they will have fewer opportunities to learn social skills and are more likely to develop a poor sense of self-efficacy and low self-esteem [69]. Regarding the attachment relationships of shy children, the present findings provide evidence of a link between shyness and the quality of children’s perceived attachment to parents and peers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Italian validation of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire: Exploring associations between shyness and psychosocial functioning

et al. 2019

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Background In recent years, researchers have begun to explore the implications of shyness for the psychosocial wellbeing of children and adolescents, exploring its association with internalizing problems. Research in an Italian context is hindered by the lack of a validated self-report measure of shyness. We report two studies aimed to assess the psychometric properties of an Italian translation of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire (CSQ-it) and investigate its correlations with convergent and divergent constructs. The first study aimed to examine associations between CSQ-it and self-report measures of anxiety and somatic symptoms and attachment with parents and peers. The second study aimed to investigate its relations to internet addiction. Methods The self-report measures were completed by 550 participants in the first study and 131 participants in the second study. Parents provided information on their child’s problems. Psychometric properties were assessed by Cronbach’s alpha in both studies and by exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis in Study 1. The relations between shyness and measures of internalizing problems and attachments were analyzed by correlational methods. In Study 2 a moderated mediation model tested the hypothesis that the relationship between shyness and internet addiction is mediated by somatic symptoms and that shyness moderates the relationship between somatic symptoms and internet addiction. Results The reliability and validity of the Italian Version of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire were satisfactory. Results from confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the single-factor model of the questionnaire previously identified in North American and Chinese studies. There were significant correlations between shyness, anxious and somatic symptomatology, impaired psychosocial functioning and specific components of attachment relationships. In Study 2 the indirect effect of shyness on internet addiction through somatic symptoms was significant as well as significantly moderated for high shyness scores but not for low levels of shyness. Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first study that explored the psychometric proprieties of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire in the Italian context. Findings demonstrated that this self-reported measure of shyness has sound psychometric properties and can be used as a sensitive and appropriate instrument for the assessment of shyness in children and adolescents.

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“…Perhaps for this reason, shy youth are at greater risk of experiencing exclusion, dislike, and rejection from peers than nonshy youth (Chen, DeSouza, Chen, & Wang, 2006;Gazelle & Ladd, 2003), and these negative peer experiences may further serve to reinforce their tendency to withdraw from the peer group. Moreover, by spending less time with their peers, shy youth may miss out on opportunities to learn and practice socially relevant skills (Jones, Schulkin, & Schmidt, 2014;McElhaney, Antonishak, & Allen, 2008).…”

Section: The Role Of Peer Experiences For Shy Adolescents' Personalitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Pathways From Shyness in Early Childhood to Personality in Adolescence: Do Peers Matter?

Baardstu

Coplan

Karevold

et al. 2019

J of Research on Adolesc

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Temperamental shyness in childhood is theorized to be an important contributor for adolescent personality. However, empirical evidence for such pathways is scarce. Using longitudinal data (N = 939 children, 51% boys) across 17 years, the aim of this study was to examine how shyness development throughout childhood predicted personality traits in adolescence, and the role of peers in these associations. Results from piecewise latent growth curve modeling showed early shyness levels to predict lower emotional stability and openness in adolescence, whereas early shyness levels and growth across childhood predicted lower extraversion. Peer problems in early adolescence accounted for these associations. This study is the first to demonstrate the role of childhood shyness and peer relations for adolescents’ personality development.

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Shyness: Subtypes, Psychosocial Correlates, and Treatment Interventions

Cited by 26 publications

References 78 publications

Young children's perceptions and beliefs about hypothetical shy, unsociable, and socially avoidant peers at school

Young children's perceptions and beliefs about hypothetical shy, unsociable, and socially avoidant peers at school

Italian validation of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire: Exploring associations between shyness and psychosocial functioning

Longitudinal Pathways From Shyness in Early Childhood to Personality in Adolescence: Do Peers Matter?

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