Unsociability and socio-emotional functioning in young Chinese children: A short-term longitudinal study

Moderating Effects of Teacher-Child Relationship on the Association Between Unsociability and Play Behaviors

The present study aimed to examine the moderating role of the quality of the relationship between children and their teachers (i.e., closeness and conflict), in children's unsociability and play behaviors (i.e., reticent behavior, social play). Participants were 211 three- to six-year-old children (M = 64.08 months, SD = 10.92, 94 girls, 117 boys). Mothers reported their unsociability; teachers reported teacher-child relationships and children's play behaviors. Results showed that close teacher-child relationships moderated the association between unsociability and social play in children (buffering effect). Teacher-child conflict exacerbated the relations between unsociability and reticent behavior. Findings show that teacher-child closeness is effective in revealing social play behaviors of unsociable children. Teachers can improve their relationship with unsociable children to provide nurturing social play behavior.

Social Avoidance and Social Adjustment: The Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation and Emotion Lability/Negativity Among Chinese Preschool Children

The present study explored the role of emotion regulation and emotion lability/negativity as a moderator in the relation between child social avoidance and social adjustment (i.e., interpersonal skills, asocial behavior, peer exclusion) in Chinese culture. Participants were N = 194 children (102 boys, 92 girls, M_age = 70.82 months, SD = 5.40) recruited from nine classrooms in two public kindergartens in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Multi-source assessments were employed with mothers rating children’s social avoidance and teachers rating children’s emotion regulation, emotion lability/negativity and social adjustment outcomes. The results indicated that the relations between social avoidance and social adjustment difficulties were more negative among children lower in emotion regulation, but not significant for children with higher emotion regulation. In contrast, the relations between social avoidance and social adjustment difficulties were more positive among children higher in emotion lability/negativity, but not significant for children with lower emotion lability/negativity. This study informs us about how emotion regulation and emotion lability/negativity are jointly associated with socially avoidant children’s development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of social avoidance in Chinese culture.