Trajectory of heart period to socioaffective threat in shy children

Expressions of positive and negative shyness in preschool-age children: Temperamental correlates and visual attention to emotions

Recent empirical evidence shows heterogeneity in the expression of shyness in children. Some children tend to express their shyness displaying positive affect along with gaze aversions (positive shyness), whereas others display more negative emotional reactions accompanied by gaze aversions (negative shyness). Temperamental differences in approach-avoidance tendencies are likely to explain these differences in shyness expression in children and influence their visual attention to social stimuli, yet little empirical attention has been devoted to these associations. Our study examined the temperamental profile (approach, fear, and inhibitory control) associated with positive and negative shyness and the relation between expression of shyness and attention to social stimuli in 47 children aged 3-6 years. Children's positive and negative expressions of shyness were assessed using a performance task. Visual attention to facial emotional expressions was measured with the dot - probe task, and temperament was measured with maternal reports. Positive shyness was found to be positively associated with temperamental dimensions of approach, inhibitory control, and fear. Positive shyness was significantly associated with attentional orientation to positive facial expressions and with less attentional avoidance of threatening facial expressions. Negative shyness was positively associated only with temperamental fear, and no associations were found with attention to social stimuli. Our study provides empirical support for the association between temperament and the multidimensional character of the expression of positive shyness and adds relevant evidence regarding the connection between the expression of shyness and attention to social stimuli.

Trajectories of behavioral avoidance in real time: Associations with temperament and physiological dysregulation in preschoolers

Although excessive avoidance has been implicated in mental health problems and socioemotional difficulties, relatively little is known about dynamic changes of avoidance behaviors. We used a latent class growth analysis to examine the temporal course of avoidance behaviors in real time and determined whether the derived classes were distinguishable on temperament and physiological markers of regulation and reactivity (N = 153; M_age = 4.20 years). A three-class solution was found and identified a low, medium, and high increasing avoidance group. The high and increasing avoidance group had the highest physiological reactivity (cortisol reactivity) and shyness, and the lowest physiological regulation (i.e., respiratory sinus arrythmia suppression). High and increasing avoidance may therefore be associated with temperamental and physiological indices of risk implicated in maladjustment and highlight the value of data-driven, group-based approaches for examining dynamic patterns of behavior.

Frontal Brain Asymmetry and the Trajectory of Shyness Across the Early School Years

Although resting right frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry has been linked to avoidance and withdrawal-related behaviors such as shyness in previous cross-sectional studies, relatively little research has examined the influence of frontal brain electrical activity on the development of shyness in children using a prospective, longitudinal study design. Here, we tested whether resting frontal EEG asymmetry predicted the trajectory of children's shyness across five assessments. Children were enrolled in the study during the summer prior to grade 1 (N = 37; M_age = 6.39 years, S.D. = 0.15 years), at which time resting frontal EEG activity and maternal report of children's shyness were collected. Mothers then reported on their child's shyness over another four follow-up assessments, spanning 2 years (winter of grade 1, summer prior to grade 2 entry, winter of grade 2, and summer prior to grade 3). Growth curve analysis revealed that children displaying greater relative right frontal EEG activity had lower levels of shyness relative to children exhibiting greater relative left frontal EEG activity at study enrollment (i.e., age 6), but displayed statistically significant linear increases in shyness across time, with the highest levels of shyness by the summer prior to grade 3 (i.e., age 8). There was, however, no relation between left frontal EEG asymmetry and change in shyness across time. These preliminary findings suggest that right frontal EEG asymmetry may reflect a biological diathesis for the growth of shyness during the early school years.

Trajectories of Observed Shyness and Psychosocial Adjustment in Children

Shyness can manifest as inhibition, fear, and avoidance in the context of social novelty and situations of perceived social evaluation. In the present study, 130 children (M_age = 7.6 years, SD = 1.8) participated in a videotaped self-presentation task across three separate visits spanning approximately 3 years in early and middle childhood. Children's observed shyness was best characterized by two trajectories, including a high-stable class (19%) and a low-stable class (81%). Girls were more likely than boys to follow a pattern of high-stable observed shyness. Further, children in the high-stable observed shyness class were rated by parents and teachers as more socially anxious relative to children in the low-stable class, and boys in the high-stable observed shyness class were rated by their teachers as displaying more depressive symptoms relative to girls. These findings suggest that a subset of children display stable behavioral shyness, and this is correlated with psychosocial functioning.

Trajectories of Resting Heart Period and Shyness in Adolescent Females Exposed to Child Maltreatment

Relatively little is known about the psychophysiological processes underlying the development of socioemotional vulnerabilities that are common among adolescents exposed to child maltreatment. Using a prospective, longitudinal design, we investigated whether trajectories of resting heart period (HP; a physiological correlate of stress vulnerability) across three visits (separated by 6 months) was associated with shyness (a type of socioemotional vulnerability) in adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment (N = 55; M_age = 14.07 years). Adolescents' resting HP across visits was best characterized by two latent trajectories: a stable high class (25.5%) and a stable low class (74.5%). The stable low HP trajectory was associated with higher shyness at Time 1 (T1), and HP trajectory moderated the association between T1 and Time 3 (T3) shyness. Females in the stable low HP trajectory demonstrated stability of shyness from T1 to T3, whereas T1 and T3 shyness were unrelated for females in the stable high HP trajectory. We also found that shyness at T1 and T3 was associated with greater levels of anxiety at T3. These findings illustrate heterogeneity in the developmental patterns of resting autonomic activity in adolescent females exposed to child maltreatment; such differences may influence the continuity of some traits linked with socioemotional vulnerability such as shyness.

Developmental programming of shyness: A longitudinal, prospective study across four decades

Although shyness is a ubiquitous phenomenon with early developmental origins, little research has examined the influence of prenatal exposures on the developmental trajectory of shyness. Here, we examined trajectories of shyness from childhood to adulthood in three groups (N = 254), with varying degrees of prenatal adversity as indicated by the number of stressful exposures: extremely low birth weight (ELBW; <1000 g) survivors prenatally exposed to exogenous corticosteroids (ELBW+S, n = 56); ELBW survivors not prenatally exposed to exogenous corticosteroids (ELBW+NS, n = 56); and normal birth weight (NBW, n = 142) controls. Multilevel modeling revealed that the ELBW+S individuals exhibited the highest levels of childhood shyness, which remained stable into adulthood. The ELBW+NS and NBW controls had comparably low levels of childhood shyness; however, the ELBW+NS individuals experienced patterns of increasing shyness, while NBW controls displayed decreases in shyness into adulthood. We speculate that individuals exposed to multiple prenatal stressors (i.e., ELBW+S) may be developmentally programmed to be more sensitive to detecting social threat, with one manifestation being early developing, stable shyness, while increasing shyness among ELBW+NS individuals may reflect a later developing shyness influenced by postnatal context. We discuss the implications of these findings for understanding the developmental origins and developmental course of human shyness from childhood through adulthood.