A "Multitude" of Solitude: A Closer Look at Social Withdrawal and Nonsocial Play in Early Childhood

Theory of mind skills and peer relationships in children's adjustment to preschool

School adjustment affects children's future lives in many ways. This study examined the relationship between ToM skills, peer relationships, and school adjustment. Specifically, this study determined whether preschool children's school adjustment could be significantly predicted by theory of mind (ToM) skills and peer relationships. A total of 164 children aged 4 (34.5%), and 5 (38%) years of preschool attendance participated in the study. According to the research, children's age, theory of mind, peer relations, and school adjustment are closely related. It was also found that the theory of mind significantly predicted school adjustment (school liking/avoidance) and that prosocial and aggressive behavior predicted school liking.

Associations between Unsociability and Peer Problems in Chinese Children and Adolescents: A Meta-Analysis

Research has shown that unsociability, reflected as a personal choice, is not necessarily associated with socio-emotional problems in Western countries. However, the associations between unsociability and peer problems are consistently evident in Chinese culture, yet the strength and direction in these associations are mixed. The present study aimed to examine whether unsociability is associated with peer problems and explored the potential moderators among the associations. A meta-analysis was conducted using publications that measured unsociability and peer problems. A total of 21 articles involving 43 effect sizes from 12,696 Chinese children and adolescents were included. The results revealed that (1) unsociability was positively associated with peer problems (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) among children and adolescents. (2) Informants (i.e., self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and parent ratings) and living areas (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural areas) significantly moderated the associations between unsociability and peer problems. Specifically, the associations were stronger for peer-nominated unsociability, self-reported peer problems, and samples in suburban areas. These findings shed light on unsociability linked to higher levels of peer problems among Chinese children and adolescents. Still, the influences are unique to peer problems and moderated by both data sources and environmental factors.

Is autonomic functioning distinctly associated with anxiety and unsociability in preschoolers?

There are many benefits of peer interactions for children's social, emotional, and cognitive development, and isolation from peers may have negative consequences for children. Although biological processes may underlie social withdrawal broadly, distinct patterns may be associated with withdrawal behaviors depending on their underlying motivation (e.g., shy versus disinterested). This study investigated the role of autonomic nervous system activity, as assessed via skin conductance level (SCL) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) in predicting changes in unsociability (e.g., lack of interest in peers) and anxious-fearfulness (e.g., discomfort among peers). Data were collected using a community sample of 92 US preschool children (45.7% female; Mage = 45.51 months, SDage = 3.81 months) at two time points one year apart. Gender differences were also explored. Baseline physiology was assessed while viewing a neutral video clip, and reactivity was assessed while viewing social exclusion and post-aggression discussion videos. For all children, coinhibition (i.e., SCL inhibition accompanied by RSA inhibition) to the post-aggression discussion video and blunted SCL activation to the exclusion video were prospectively associated with higher levels of anxious-fearfulness one year later. For boys only, baseline reciprocal sympathetic activation (i.e., SCL activation and RSA inhibition) was prospectively related to higher levels of unsociability one year later. For girls only, RSA inhibition in response to the post-aggression discussion video was prospectively related to higher levels of unsociability one year later. Findings contribute to a growing literature on autonomic reactivity in preschoolers' adjustment and suggest possible differences in the physiological processes underlying unsociability and anxious-fearfulness.

How Socially Avoidant Emerging Adults Process Social Feedback during Human-to-Human Interaction after Social Rejection: An Event-Related Potential Study

Social avoidance refers to active non-participation in social activities, which is detrimental to healthy interpersonal interaction for emerging adults. Social rejection is a kind of negative social evaluation from others making people feel social pain. However, how socially avoidant emerging adults process social feedback information after experiencing social rejection has received less attention. The current study aimed to explore the differences in social interaction feedback processing after social rejection between a socially avoidant group (n = 16) and a comparison group (n = 16) in a human-to-human interaction context. Computer game tasks with two types of interaction (cooperation and competition) were used to record the event-related potentials when receiving social interaction feedback in two conditions (social rejection and control condition). The results showed that (1) the socially avoidant group had lower reward positivity amplitudes than the comparison group when receiving social feedback; (2) the socially avoidant group presented larger P300 amplitudes in the social rejection condition than in the control condition, but the comparison group did not; and (3) social rejection evoked more negative N1 amplitudes in the socially avoidant and comparison groups. The findings suggest that socially avoidant emerging adults may have flaws in reward sensitivity during interpersonal interaction, and they might also exert more attentional and emotional resources to social feedback after social rejection.

Unsociability and social adjustment in Chinese preschool migrant children: the moderating role of receptive vocabulary

Peer relationships play an indispensable role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. However, children exhibiting social withdrawal, such as unsociability, may face challenges in social adjustment. In collectivistic cultures like China, unsociability may be perceived negatively, aligning poorly with collective norms. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the associations between unsociability, receptive vocabulary, and indicators of social adjustment in a cohort of young migrant children residing in urban regions of mainland China. The study mainly aimed to investigate the potential moderating influence of receptive language on these associations. The study involved 148 young children (82 boys, 66 girls, Mage = 62.32 months, SD = 6.76) enrolled in preschools or kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multiple sources of assessment were utilized, encompassing evaluations from mothers (about child unsociability), teacher (assessing social adjustment), and standardized tests (measuring receptive vocabulary). The results indicated that the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more positive among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Similarly, the relations between unsociability and peer exclusion were more negative among children with lower levels of receptive vocabulary but not significant for children with higher levels of receptive vocabulary. Thus, this study informs us about how receptive vocabulary is jointly associated with unsociable children's development. As well, the findings highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture.

Autism traits, social withdrawal, and behavioral and emotional problems in a Norwegian cohort of adolescents with rare genetic disorders

BACKGROUND

Adolescents with rare genetic disorders represent a population that can be at risk in psychosocial terms. Despite its importance, the association of autism traits and social withdrawal in behavioral and emotional problems in adolescents with rare genetic disorders remains understudied.

AIM

The study aimed to empirically examine the clinical characteristics of adolescents with rare genetic disorders with a behavior theory-driven approach.

METHOD

We investigated the behavioral and emotional problems and current and lifetime autistic traits in a sample of 93 Norwegian adolescents (Mage = 13.2 years, SDage = 2.4, rangeage 10-17, 62.4% females, 37.6% males) with various rare genetic disorders. The adolescents were investigated cross-sectionally utilizing standardized psychometric questionnaires rated by their parents.

RESULTS

More current and lifetime autistic traits and social withdrawal were all associated with more internalizing problems. Further analyses demonstrated that social withdrawal partially mediated the positive association between current autistic traits and internalizing problems. In contrast, social withdrawal fully mediated the positive association between lifetime autistic traits and internalizing problems.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

Our results demonstrate important characteristics of adolescents with rare genetic disorders that may guide clinicians and future interventions. Social withdrawal may be prodromal to internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression. Thus, clinically addressing social withdrawal can represent a means to prevent internalizing problems in adolescents with rare genetic disorders and autistic traits.

The moderating effects of parental psychological control on the relationship between unsociability and socio-emotional functioning among Chinese children

Introduction

There have been studies indicating that children's unsociability was associated with poorer socio-emotional functioning in China. Although some researchers have found that parenting behavior would influence the relationship between children's unsociability and adjustment, the role of parental psychological control has not been explored. This study aimed to investigate the moderating effect of parental psychological control on the relationship between unsociability and socio-emotional functioning in Chinese children.

Methods

A total of 1,275 students from Grades 3 to 7 (637 boys, Mage = 10.78 years, SD = 1.55 years) were selected from four public schools in Shanghai to participate in this study. Data of unsociability, peer victimization and social preference were collected from peer-nominations, and data of parental psychological control, depressive symptoms and social anxiety were collected from self-reports.

Results

There were positive associations between unsociability and peer victimization, depressive symptoms, and social anxiety, as well as a negative association between unsociability and social preference. Parental psychological control moderated these associations, specifically, the associations between unsociability and peer victimization, social preference, and depressive symptoms were stronger, and the association between unsociability and social anxiety was only significant among children with higher level of parental psychological control.

Discussion

The findings in the current study highlight the importance of parental psychological control in the socio-emotional functioning of unsociable children in the Chinese context, enlightening educators that improving parenting behavior is essential for children's development.

A Multi-Method Examination of Peer Functioning in Children with and without Cognitive Disengagement Syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Cognitive disengagement syndrome (CDS) includes excessive daydreaming, mental confusion, and hypoactive behaviors that are distinct from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder inattentive (ADHD-IN) symptoms. A growing number of studies indicate that CDS symptoms may be associated with ratings of social withdrawal. However, it is important to examine this association in children specifically recruited for the presence or absence of CDS, and to incorporate multiple methods including direct observations of peer interactions. The current study builds on previous research by recruiting children with and without clinically elevated CDS symptoms and using a multi-method, multi-informant design including recess observations and parent, teacher, and child rating scales.

METHOD

Participants were 207 children in grades 2-5 (63.3% male), including 103 with CDS and 104 without CDS, closely matched on grade and sex.

RESULTS

Controlling for family income, medication status, internalizing symptoms, and ADHD-IN severity, children with CDS were observed during recess to spend more time alone or engaging in parallel play, as well as less time involved in direct social interactions, than children without CDS. Children with CDS were also rated by teachers as being more asocial, shy, and socially disinterested than children without CDS. Although children with and without CDS did not differ on parent- or self-report ratings of shyness or social disinterest, children with CDS rated themselves as lonelier than children without CDS.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings indicate that children with CDS have a distinct profile of peer functioning and point to the potential importance of targeting withdrawal in interventions for youth with elevated CDS symptoms.

How household chaos affects social withdrawal of rural children: the indirect role of executive function and receptive language ability

Executive function (EF) and receptive language ability play an important role in the relationship between household chaos and social withdrawal. Young children are neglected in household chaos research and suffer from the negative outcomes of households in China. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between household chaos and social withdrawal in young Chinese children and the chain mediating effect of EF and receptive language ability. This study included 922 preschool-age children (62.58 ± 8.03 months) and their primary caregivers and their teachers were recruited from 21 rural preschools in Guangdong Province in China. Our results show a positive direct effect of household chaos and social withdrawal. Furthermore, an indirect sequential effect of household chaos and social withdrawal on EF and receptive language ability was found. Our findings (a) highlight the significance of paying more attention to household chaos and revealing a better understanding of the effect of EF and receptive language ability on households at an early age and (b) indicate that interventions should be provided to improve the home environment when children are young.

Moderating effect of classroom sociable norm on the relations between unsociability and internalizing problems in Chinese adolescents

Objectives

The goal of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of classroom sociable norm on the relations between unsociability and internalizing problems (the indicators included depression, loneliness and self-esteem) in Chinese adolescents.

Methods

Participants were N = 1,160 adolescents in Grade 4-8 from Shanghai, People's Republic of China. They completed questionnaires about unsociability, sociability, and social preference via peer nominations, while depression, loneliness, and self-esteem were collected via self-report.

Results

It was found that unsociability was positively associated with depression and loneliness, and negatively associated with self-esteem. Moreover, the relations between unsociability and indicators of internalizing problems were moderated by classroom sociable norm. More specifically, the significant positive associations between unsociability and depression and loneliness were stronger in classrooms with high sociable norm, and the negative association between unsociability and self-esteem was only significant in such classrooms.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that classroom sociable norm plays an important role in unsociable adolescents' psychological adjustment in China. Researchers should focus more on the influence of classroom environment on adolescents' development in future.

Social avoidance and social adjustment in Chinese preschool migrant children: the moderating role of teacher-child relationships

Objectives

This study aimed to explore the moderating role of teacher-child relationships in the relations between social avoidance and social adjustment (i.e., prosocial behavior, peer exclusion, and anxious-fearful behavior) in Chinese migrant preschoolers.

Methods

Participants were 148 migrant children aged 4-6 years (82 boys, M_age = 62.32, SD = 6.67) attending kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers reported children's social avoidance, and teachers rated teacher-child relationships and children's social adjustment.

Results

Results indicated that social avoidance was positively related to peer exclusion and negatively related to prosocial behavior. Teacher-child relationships moderated those associations. Specifically, teacher-child closeness buffered the relationship between social avoidance and peer exclusion, whereas teacher-child conflict exacerbated the relations between social avoidance and peer exclusion and anxious-fearful behavior.

Conclusion

The current finding informs us of the importance of improving teacher-child closeness and reducing teacher-child conflict to buffer the negative adjustment among socially avoidant young children who migrated from rural-to-urban China. The findings also highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of social avoidance for migrant preschoolers in Chinese culture.

Links between social avoidance and frontal alpha asymmetry during processing emotional facial stimuli: An exploratory study

Individuals who are socially avoidant actively remove themselves from opportunities for social interaction and have a strong desire for solitude. Although social avoidance is associated with a host of adjustment difficulties, its neural substrates remain under-explored. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study to compare electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) scores during processing emotional facial stimuli in socially avoidant and non-withdrawn comparison individuals. From an original sample of N = 384 undergraduate students, 25 avoidant and 27 comparison individuals were identified. For this subset of participants, EEG modulations and self-reported experience ratings during a picture processing task were assessed. Among the results, the socially avoidant group's ratings of positive stimuli were significantly lower than the non-withdrawn comparison group. The socially avoidant group also had significantly lower FAA scores in response to positive stimuli than the comparison group. Further, asymmetry scores of the comparison group in the positive conditions were higher than in the negative and neutral conditions. However, there were no significant differences between these three conditions in the socially avoidant group. Our results suggest that socially avoidant individuals may eschew interpersonal relationships because of a relatively greater right hemisphere cortical activity, which may contribute to a withdrawal motivation when confronted with negative emotional stimuli in social contexts.

Unsociability and social adjustment of Chinese preschool migrant children: The moderating role of resilience

OBJECTIVES

The present study examined the moderating effect of children's resilience on the relations between unsociability and social adjustment (i.e., prosocial behaviors, peer exclusion, interpersonal skills, internalizing problems) in Chinese preschool migrant children.

METHODS

Participants were N = 148 children (82 boys, M _age = 62.32 months, SD = 6.76) attending two public kindergartens in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers provided ratings of children's unsociability and resilience; teachers assessed children's social adjustment outcomes, and children reported their receptive vocabulary.

RESULTS

Unsociability was positively associated with peer exclusion and internalizing problems, and negatively associated with prosocial behaviors and interpersonal skills among Chinese preschool migrant children. Moreover, children's resilience significantly moderated the relationship between unsociability and social adjustment. Specifically, among children with lower levels of resilience, unsociability was significantly and positively associated with peer exclusion and internalizing problems, while among children with higher levels of resilience, unsociability was not associated with social adjustment difficulties.

CONCLUSION

The current findings inform us of the importance of improving children's resilience to buffer the negative adjustment among Chinese migrant unsociable young children. The findings also highlight the importance of considering the meaning and implication of unsociability for preschool migrant children in Chinese culture.

Examining the influence of shyness on children's helping and comforting behaviour

Introduction

Shy children, who tend to feel anxious around others and withdraw from social interactions, are found to be less prosocial than their not-shy peers in some studies, though not in others. To examine the contexts in which shy children may be more or less likely to engage in prosocial behaviour, we compared children's willingness and ability to intervene during in-person tasks that differed in social engagement demands and complexity, factors that have been conflated in past research.

Methods

We presented 42, 3.5- to 4.5-year-old children with prosocial problems that varied, in a 2 x 2 within-subjects design, by the type of intervention required (i.e., simple helping or complex comforting) and the source of the problem (i.e., social: within the experimenter's personal space; or object: a target object distanced from her).

Results

Most of the children acted prosocially, with little prompting, in the two helping tasks and in the object-centered comforting task. In contrast, fewer than half of the children acted prosocially in the social-centered comforting task. Shyer children were not less likely to intervene in any of the four tasks, but they were slower to intervene in the object-centred comforting task, in which the experimenter was upset about a broken toy.

Discussion

Thus, providing social-centered comfort to a recently-introduced adult is challenging for young children, regardless of shyness, though shy children do show hesitancy with object-centered comforting. Further, these findings provide insights into the methodological challenges of disentangling children's prosocial motivation and understanding, and we propose solutions to these challenges for future research.

Relation between Shyness and Music Academic Engagement: The Mediation of Achievement Goals-A Cross-Sectional Survey Study

Music discipline that emphasizes expression, performance and collaboration may cause difficulties for shy students who are prone to anxiety about social interaction, which might cause low music academic engagement and achievement. According to Models of Personality and Affect regarding the role of psychological constructs in educational contexts, shyness and academic engagement are the first and third-level variables, respectively. We hypothesized that achievement goals might be the second-level variable between shyness and academic engagement. Two hypotheses were proposed in the study: (1) shyness is negatively related to music academic engagement; (2) the music achievement goals mediate shyness and music academic engagement. The research was conducted in May 2022. A total of 515 college students who major in music were randomly recruited from a public university in Shanxi province, China. A 20 min self-report questionnaire was conducted as the data collection method. The research results revealed the following: (1) shyness was negatively associated with musical academic engagement; (2) the music mastery goals and the music performance avoidance goals (excluding the performance approach goal) partially mediated the association between shyness and music academic engagement in music learning. These findings have implications for the research and practice of music academic engagement of shyness.

Withdrawn and Acting out?: Early Adolescents' Social Avoidance and Externalizing Problems

Relative to other motivations of social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, unsociability), social avoidance is understudied. Furthermore, the relation between social avoidance and externalizing problems seldom has been investigated despite reasons to expect an association. We examined the association between social avoidance and externalizing problems using a sample of early adolescents in the United States using parents' reports (N = 294; 54.1% boys; M age = 12.43 years). Supporting our hypotheses, structural equation models indicated that social avoidance positively predicted concurrent externalizing problems, controlling for shyness, unsociability, and internalizing problems (including depression and anxiety). Findings highlight that socially avoidant adolescents' behaviors may include avoiding others as well as acting out. Longitudinal work is needed to examine the potential bidirectional relations between social avoidance and externalizing problems.

Exploring the Role of Teacher–Child Relationships in the Longitudinal Associations Between Childhood Shyness and Social Functioning at School: A Prospective Cohort Study

The goal of this study was to explore longitudinally the protective role of relationships with early childhood and education care (ECEC) teachers for shy children’s social functioning at age 5 and 8 years. Participants were N = 7343 children from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child (MoBa) study, a prospective longitudinal cohort study in Norway. Measures included maternal rating of child shyness at age 18 months, 3 and 5 years, ECEC teacher ratings of teacher–child relationships and maternal ratings of child peer play behaviors at age 5 years, and teacher ratings of child social competence at age 8 years. We conducted latent moderated-mediation analyses within a SEM framework. Among the results, childhood shyness was negatively associated with social functioning. However, significant indirect and moderation effects were also found, with a pattern suggesting that early positive teacher–child relationships have a buffering influence on shy children’s risk for social difficulties.

Subtypes of social withdrawal and mental health trajectories during COVID-19 pandemic

The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has pervasive implications for the well-being of people, especially for the social withdrawn individuals. The present study examined changes of well-being among people in distinct subgroups of social withdrawal – shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance –in different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic using six-wave longitudinal data in China (N = 222; 54.50% female). Results showed that, in general, well-being sharply decreased from the initial phase to the peak phase of the pandemic, but steadily recovered after the peak phase. People in different withdrawal groups displayed different levels and trajectories of well-being during a period of six months. The current study has implications for developing targeted interventions for vulnerable people in public health crisis.

The relationship between depression and social avoidance of college students: A moderated mediation model

BACKGROUND

The fact that depression and anxiety are highly prevalent and often co-occur has been well documented. The present study hypothesized that loneliness and interpersonal trust mediate the relationship between depression and social anxiety, with self-esteem playing a moderating role.

METHODS

1021 college students completed the interpersonal trust scale (ITS), self-rating depression scale (SDS), UCLA loneliness scale, self-esteem scale (SES), and social avoidance and distress (SAD) scale. And descriptive statistical analysis and correlation analysis, structural equation model analysis were conducted.

RESULTS

1) The correlations between depression, loneliness, interpersonal trust, self-esteem and social avoidance were all statistically significant. 2) Loneliness and interpersonal trust mediated the relationship between depression and social avoidance. 3) Self-esteem moderated the relationship between interpersonal trust and social avoidance. Specifically, compared with individuals who had high self-esteem, social avoidance in those with low self-esteem individuals was more susceptible to the effects of interpersonal trust.

LIMITATIONS

First, the questionnaire data may be influenced by social approval. Second, most of the participants were college students. Finally, the causal relationship between the variables could not be inferred.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicated that loneliness and interpersonal trust played mediating roles between depression and social avoidance, and the relationship between interpersonal trust and social avoidance was moderated by self-esteem. It provides a new way to explain the mechanism of depression, and a new perspective for the clinical intervention of depression, that is, from the perspective of their self-experience and self-esteem.

Quality over quantity: A transactional model of social withdrawal and friendship development in late adolescence

The aim of this study was to test a longitudinal, transactional model that describes how social withdrawal and friendship development are interrelated in late adolescence, and to investigate if post-secondary transitions are catalysts of change for highly withdrawn adolescents' friendships. Unilateral friendship data of 1,019 adolescents (61.3% female, 91% Dutch-origin) from the Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS) cohort were collected five times from ages 17 to 18 years. Social withdrawal was assessed at 16 and 19 years. The transactional model was tested within a Structural Equation Modeling framework, with intercepts and slopes of friendship quantity, quality, and stability as mediators and residential transitions, education transitions, and sex as moderators. The results confirmed the presence of a transactional relation between withdrawal and friendship quality. Whereas higher age 16 withdrawal predicted having fewer, lower-quality, and less-stable friendships, only having lower-quality friendships, in turn, predicted higher age 19 withdrawal, especially in girls. Residential transitions were catalysts of change for highly withdrawn youth's number of friends: higher withdrawal predicted a moderate increase in number of friends for adolescents who relocated, and no change for those who made an educational transition or did not transition. Taken together, these results indicate that the quality of friendships-over and above number of friends and the stability of those friendships-is particularly important for entrenching or diminishing withdrawal in late adolescence, and that relocating provides an opportunity for withdrawn late adolescents to expand their friendship networks.

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 Media Use Predicts Greater Liking in In-Person Initial Interactions

Does how people generally engage with their online social networks relate to offline initial social interactions? Using a large-scale study of first impressions (N = 806, N_dyad = 4,565), we examined how different indicators of social media use relate to the positivity of dyadic in-person first impressions, from the perspective of the participants and their interaction partners. Many forms of social media use (e.g., Instagram, Snapchat, passive) were associated with liking and being liked by others more, although some forms of use (e.g., Facebook, active) were not associated with liking others or being liked by others. Furthermore, most associations held controlling for extraversion and narcissism. Thus, while some social media use may be generally beneficial for offline social interactions, some may be unrelated, highlighting the idea that how, rather than how much, people use social media can play a role in their offline social interactions.

Social Withdrawal and Romantic Relationships: A Longitudinal Study in Early Adulthood

Involvement in romantic relationships is a salient developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood, and deviations from normative romantic development are linked to adverse outcomes. This study investigated to what extent social withdrawal contributed to deviations from normative romantic development, and vice versa, and the interplay between withdrawal and couples’ relationship perceptions. The sample included 1710 young adults (55–61% female) from the Tracking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey cohort and their romantic partners. Data were collected across 4 waves, covering romantic relationships from ages 17 to 29 years. The results showed that higher withdrawal predicted a higher likelihood of romantic non-involvement by adulthood, consistently being single at subsequent waves, and entering one’s first relationship when older. Withdrawal moderately decreased when youth entered their first relationship. Male’s withdrawal in particular affected romantic relationship qualities and dynamics. These results provide new insights into the developmental sequelae of withdrawn young adults’ romantic relationship development.

Shyness and Adjustment in Early Childhood in Southeast China: The Moderating Role of Conflict Resolution Skills

The massive social change in urban China today has led to a decline in the adaptive implications of shyness for child adjustment, yet evidence of this trend in young children is limited. Moreover, the underlying mechanisms that help to explain the associations between shyness and maladjustment remains poorly understood. The primary goal of the present study was to explore the moderating role of conflict resolution skills in the links between shyness and socio-emotional and school adjustment among urban Chinese preschoolers. Data were collected from 360 children (44.4% girls, M_age = 4.72 years, SD = 0.63) in kindergartens using parent ratings, teacher ratings, and child interviews. The analyses indicated that the relations between shyness and adjustment were moderated by child conflict resolution skills, which served to buffer shy children from adjustment problems. The results were discussed in terms of the implications of conflict resolution skills for early adjustment of shy preschoolers in the Chinese context.

The mediating role of adolescents' loneliness and social withdrawal in the association between maternal depressive symptoms and suicidality in adolescence: A 20-year population-based study

We examined whether adolescents' loneliness and social withdrawal mediated the association between maternal depressive symptoms and adolescent suicidality. Secondary analyses on the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development data were conducted (n = 1,623). Each mother completed the Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (at child ages 5 months, 1.5, 3.5, 5, and 7 years). Adolescent's social withdrawal (adolescent, father, and teacher reported at 10, 12, and 13 years) and loneliness (adolescent reported at 10, 12, and 13 years), were assessed using items from the Social Behavior Questionnaire and the Loneliness and Social Satisfaction Questionnaire, respectively. Adolescents completed self-reports to assess suicidal thoughts and attempts at 13, 15, 17, and 20 years. Children of mothers with higher levels of maternal depressive symptoms had an increased risk for suicidality (OR = 1.15, 95% CI: 1.03-1.28). Loneliness explained 16% of the total effect of maternal depressive symptoms on adolescent suicidality (indirect effect OR = 1.02, 95% CI: 1.00-1.04). There was no indirect effect of maternal depressive symptoms on adolescent suicidal outcomes via social withdrawal (indirect effect OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.99-1.02). Interventions that target loneliness may be beneficial for decreasing the risk for suicidality among adolescents of mothers with depressive symptoms.

Leaving the Loners Alone: Dispositional Preference for Solitude Evokes Ostracism

What are the interpersonal consequences of seeking solitude? Leading theories in developmental research have proposed that having a general preference for solitude may incur significant interpersonal costs, but empirical studies are still lacking. In five studies (total N = 1,823), we tested whether target individuals with a higher preference for solitude were at greater risk for ostracism, a common, yet extremely negative, experience. In studies using self-reported experiences (Study 1) and perceptions of others’ experiences (Study 2), individuals with a stronger preference for solitude were more likely to experience ostracism. Moreover, participants were more willing to ostracize targets with a high (vs. low) preference for solitude (Studies 3 and 4). Why do people ostracize solitude-seeking individuals? Participants assumed that interacting with these individuals would be aversive for themselves and the targets (Study 5; preregistered). Together, these studies suggest that seeking time alone has important (and potentially harmful) interpersonal consequences.

A Dynamic Examination of the Associations between Shyness, Psychological Difficulties, and Stressful Life Events during Early Adolescence

Although numerous studies have established linkages between shyness and later psychological difficulties, most extant research did not examine variation in shyness over time in relation to variation in psychological difficulties over time or possible environmental factors of influence outside of the school context. The current study used multi-level modelling to simultaneously examine time-invariant and time-variant associations between shyness, the psychological difficulties of depressive symptoms and loneliness, and stressful life events at four waves across 1 year in a community sample of 271 young adolescents (51% boys; M_age = 11.83 years at W1). Results revealed significant time-variant and time-invariant effects when loneliness was examined as a predictor of shyness. In addition, a significant interaction effect indicated that shyness decreased over time for those young adolescents who experienced few stressful life events, highlighting an understudied moderator of risk. Overall, findings have important implications for understanding the psychological concomitants of shyness as well as etiological models of shyness.

A Longitudinal Person-Centered Examination of Affinity for Aloneness Among Children and Adolescents

Affinity for aloneness among youth often is viewed negatively. However, some youth may enjoy solitude for positive reasons, rather than because of social anxiety. The prevalence and adjustment over time of youth with high affinity for aloneness is unclear. Groups of children (N = 605, M_age  = 9.29) and adolescents (N = 596, M_age  = 12.20) were identified using affinity for aloneness and social anxiety scores, and group differences in adjustment were assessed. Latent class analyses revealed four groups at T1 and T2 for both samples. Among these were Normative (Low.affinity_for_aloneness-Low.social_anxiety) and Affinity for Aloneness (High.affinity_for_aloneness-LowMod.social_anxiety) groups. These groups did not differ longitudinally in adjustment. Having elevated levels of affinity for aloneness without high social anxiety is relatively benign.

Parsing apart affective dimensions of withdrawal: Longitudinal relations with peer victimization

The current study examined a bifactor model of affective dimensions of withdrawal. Specifically, a model which specified a general factor of anxious-avoidant withdrawal (i.e., withdrawal with negative affect), a specific factor of unsociability (i.e., withdrawal without negative affect), and a specific factor of negative affect without withdrawal was specified in the primary sample (n = 238, 56.3% boys, M age = 44.92 months, SD = 5.32 months) and a validation sample (n = 332, 52.6% boys, M age = 47.11 months, SD = 7.32 months). The model provided a good fit to the data in both samples. In the primary sample, longitudinal relations between the bifactor model and peer victimization were examined across three time points (Time 1 in the spring, Time 2 in the fall, and Time 3 in the spring). Results showed that negative affect without withdrawal was concurrently associated with higher levels of relational and physical victimization at T1, unsociability predicted reductions in relational victimization from T1 to T2 as children entered a new classroom, and anxious-avoidant withdrawal predicted reductions in relational and physical victimization from T2 to T3 as children acclimated to the new classroom. Developmental considerations and clinical implications are discussed.

Developmental antecedents of social anhedonia: The roles of early temperament and sex

Social anhedonia is well established as a transdiagnostic factor, but little is known about its development. This study examined whether temperament and parenting in early childhood predict social anhedonia in early adolescence. We also explored whether the relationships between early predictors and social anhedonia are moderated by a child's sex. A community sample of children participated in laboratory observations of temperament and parenting practices at age 3 (n = 275). The participants returned at age 12 and completed the Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale-Child Version (ACIPS-C). Our results indicated that, at age 3, lower observed sociability predicted higher levels of social anhedonia at age 12. These associations were moderated by child sex, such that males with diminished sociability reported greater social anhedonia. These findings indicate that predictors of early adolescent social anhedonia are evident as early as 3 years of age. However, these effects were evident only for males, suggesting that the pathways to social anhedonia in early adolescence differ as a function of sex.

Social Withdrawal in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: Measurement Issues, Normative Development, and Distinct Trajectories

Social withdrawal during adolescence and early adulthood is particularly problematic due to the increasing importance of social interactions during these ages. Yet little is known about the changes, trajectories, or correlates of being withdrawn during this transition to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine the normative change and distinct trajectories of withdrawal in order to identify adolescents and early adults at greatest risk for maladjustment. Participants were from a Dutch population-based cohort study (Tracking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey), including 1917 adolescents who were assessed at four waves from the age of 16 to 25 years. Five items from the Youth Self Report and Adult Self Report were found to be measurement invariant and used to assess longitudinal changes in social withdrawal. Overall, participants followed a U-shaped trajectory of social withdrawal, where withdrawal decreased from ages 16 to 19 years, remained stable from 19 to 22 years, and increased from 22 to 25 years. Furthermore, three distinct trajectory classes of withdrawal emerged: a low-stable group (71.8%), a high-decreasing group (12.0%), and a low-curvilinear group (16.2%). The three classes differed on: shyness, social affiliation, reduced social contact, anxiety, and antisocial behaviors. The high-decreasing group endorsed the highest social maladjustment, followed by the low-curvilinear group, and the low-stable group was highly adjusted. We discuss the potential contribution of the changing social network in influencing withdrawal levels, the distinct characteristics of each trajectory group, and future directions in the study of social withdrawal in adolescence and early adulthood.

Using Measurement Invariance to Study Social Withdrawal in Children With Developmental Language Disorders

Purpose

Teacher ratings were used to compare children with developmental language disorders (DLD) and their typically developing peers on 2 subtypes of social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability). Measurement invariance analysis was utilized to determine if teachers rated the 2 groups using the same underlying construct for each of the rating scale items that have been designed to assess withdrawn behavior.

Method

The Teacher Behavior Rating Scale (TBRS; C. H. Hart & Robinson, 1996 ) was administered to the teachers of 173 children with DLD and 182 typically developing children (age range: 5;0–12;11 years;months) to compare 2 subtypes of withdrawal, shyness and unsociability. Measurement invariance analysis was used to establish an appropriate basis for comparing the latent group means and other structural parameters, and partial invariance models were used to compare the groups.

Results

For the TBRS, shyness and unsociability were measured by 4 and 5 items, respectively. The measurement invariance analysis indicated that classroom teachers approached 1 item on each of these scales using a different underlying construct when rating the 2 groups of children. Taking this into account, the groups were compared. Teachers rated children with DLD as significantly more withdrawn on both shyness and unsociability in comparison with typically developing children. Age and gender were not significant factors.

Conclusions

When conducting assessments, it should not be assumed that teachers or other raters approach even commonly used rating scale items using the same underlying perception for typically developing children and children with disorders. However, the analysis of invariant items on the TBRS reconfirmed that children with DLD are at risk for social withdrawal as operationalized by assessments of both shyness and unsociability.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.7789472

Advancing the Multi-Informant Assessment of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo: Child Self-Report in Relation to Parent and Teacher Ratings of SCT and Impairment

Despite increasing interest in sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) in children and advancements in its measurement, little research has examined child self-reported SCT. Child self-report of SCT is important for the multi-informant assessment of SCT. The current study used a large, school-based sample of children and a multi-informant design to examine child self-reported SCT using the Child Concentration Inventory - Version 2 (CCI-2) which was recently revised based on meta-analytic findings and parallels the item content of validated parent and teacher rating scales. The study involved 2142 unique children (ages 8-13 years, 50.51% males). Children (n = 1980) completed measures of SCT, loneliness, and preference for solitude. Mothers (n = 1648), fathers (n = 1358), and teachers (n = 1773) completed measures of SCT, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder-IN (ADHD-IN), academic impairment, social impairment, and conflicted shyness. Children's self-reported SCT demonstrated good reliability with the 15 SCT symptoms showing moderate to strong loadings on the SCT factor. The child self-report SCT factor also showed moderate convergent validity with mother, father, and teacher ratings of children's SCT. In addition, higher child-reported SCT predicted greater mother, father, and teacher ratings of children's academic impairment even after controlling for mother, father, and teacher ratings of children's SCT and ADHD-IN. Higher child-rated SCT also predicted greater mother ratings of children's social impairment after controlling for mother ratings of children's SCT and ADHD-IN. The present study provides initial empirical support for the reliability and validity of child-reported SCT as part of the multi-informant assessment of SCT. A key direction for future research includes evaluating the unique contributions of different informants and their utility within specific contexts to guide evidence-based recommendations for assessing SCT.

The relationship between temperament style and understanding of human goal-directed action in infants

The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between temperament style and understanding of goal-directed action in 10-11-month-old infants. Infant social understanding was assessed using a looking-time measure similar to Woodward (1998). This method yielded two measures of infant social understanding; 'decrement of attention' (a measure of infant attention during habituation) and 'novelty preference' (an index of infants' understanding of goal-directed behavior). Temperament style was provided by online parent report (IBQ; Rothbart, 1981). Infant shy/fearful temperament predicted decrement of attention scores. Novelty preference was also marginally related to shy temperament, but more strongly associated with low intensity pleasure, specifically enjoyment of physical contact with caregivers. Moreover, shy temperament continued to predict infant social understanding even when controlling for the effect of non-social intelligence (ASQ; Squires, et al., 2009). In our study, as in research with preschool-aged children (Wellman et al., 2011; Mink et al., 2014), shy, reticent temperament style is associated with social information processing, providing further evidence for continuity in individual differences in social cognition in early childhood.

Maternal Encouragement of Modest Behavior, Temperamental Shyness, and Anxious Withdrawal Linkages to Chinese American Children's Social Adjustment: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

Past studies have revealed potential differences in the functional meaning and social evaluation of children's temperamental shyness between Chinese interdependence-oriented and North American independence-oriented cultural contexts. However, very little is known about shy Chinese American children's adjustment in Western school contexts and potential pathways underlying their adjustment. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the associations between Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and their social adjustment outcomes, including peer exclusion, prosocial behavior, and assertiveness/leadership skills. In addition, the mediating role of children's display of anxious-withdrawn behavior and the moderating role of first-generation Chinese immigrant mothers' encouragement of modesty in their parenting practices as applied to associations between temperamental shyness and social adjustment outcomes were explored. Path analyses indicated that the impact of Chinese American children's temperamental shyness on their socio-emotional adjustment was mediated by their display of anxious-withdrawn behavior in school. However, when Chinese immigrant mothers encouraged their children to be more modest, children's temperamental shyness was less strongly related to negative social adjustment outcomes through diminished anxious-withdrawn behavior. These results highlighted the importance of culturally-emphasized parenting practices in fostering Chinese American children's adjustment in the U.S.