Social Withdrawal in Childhood

Abstract

Socially withdrawn children frequently refrain from social activities in the presence of peers. The lack of social interaction in childhood may result from a variety of causes, including social fear and anxiety or a preference for solitude. From early childhood through to adolescence, socially withdrawn children are concurrently and predictively at risk for a wide range of negative adjustment outcomes, including socio-emotional difficulties (e.g., anxiety, low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and internalizing problems), peer difficulties (e.g., rejection, victimization, poor friendship quality), and school difficulties (e.g., poor-quality teacher-child relationships, academic difficulties, school avoidance). The goals of the current review are to (a) provide some definitional, theoretical, and methodological clarity to the complex array of terms and constructs previously employed in the study of social withdrawal; (b) examine the predictors, correlates, and consequences of child and early-adolescent social withdrawal; and (c) present a developmental framework describing pathways to and from social withdrawal in childhood.

The influences of mindfulness on high-stakes mathematics test achievement of middle school students

“…The clinical psychology application of mindfulness has been altered and extended to many different fields through a variety of mindfulness courses, such as mindfulness workplace coaching (Ancona and Mendelson, 2014), childbirth and parenting (Duncan and Bardacke, 2010), competitive sports coaching (Scott-Hamilton et al, 2016), etc. Of all possible applications, school-based mindfulness that combines students' psychosomatic characteristics and traditional school mental health curricula has received the most attention (Yu and Wenjie, 2017). School-based mindfulness has been widely used in recent years to help a growing number of students suffering from mental health problems, such as anxiety (Essau et al, 2011), depression (Jellinek and Snyder, 1998), and social withdrawal (Hipson and Coplan, 2017). Previous studies have confirmed the value of mindfulness applications for improving schoolwork.…”

“…Of all possible applications, school-based mindfulness that combines students' psychosomatic characteristics and traditional school mental health curricula has received the most attention (Yu and Wenjie, 2017 ). School-based mindfulness has been widely used in recent years to help a growing number of students suffering from mental health problems, such as anxiety (Essau et al, 2011 ), depression (Jellinek and Snyder, 1998 ), and social withdrawal (Hipson and Coplan, 2017 ). Previous studies have confirmed the value of mindfulness applications for improving schoolwork.…”

The impact of children’s socioemotional development on parenting styles: the moderating effect of social withdrawal

“…Social withdrawal, as a temperamental characteristic, has been found to predict negative psychosocial outcomes, including behaviour problems later in childhood and adolescence (e.g. Chronis-Tuscano, Danko, Rubin, Coplan, & Novick, 2018;Hipson & Coplan, 2018;Quinn & Harden, 2013;Rubin et al, 2009). Social withdrawal may arise from social fear as well as internal factors, e.g.…”