Shyness as a Factor when Assessing Children

Developmental patterns of children's shyness: Relations with physiological, emotional, and regulatory responses to being treated unfairly

The dysregulation of social fear has been widely studied in children's shyness, but we know little about how shy children regulate during unfair treatment. We first characterized developmental patterns of children's shyness (N = 304, ngirls  = 153; 74% White, 26% Other) across 2 (Mage  = 2.07), 3 (Mage  = 3.08), 4 (Mage  = 4.08), and 6 (Mage  = 6.58) years of age. Data collection occurred from 2007 to 2014. At age 6, the high stable group had higher cardiac vagal withdrawal and lower expressed sadness and approach-related regulatory strategy than the low stable group when being treated unfairly. Although shy children may be more physiologically impacted by being treated unfairly, they may mask their sadness to signal appeasement.

The role of early social play behaviors and language skills for shy children's later internalizing difficulties in school

Research has demonstrated links from early childhood shyness to socioemotional problems later in life. This longitudinal study explored the role of early social play behaviors and language skills in the associations between childhood shyness and later internalizing and language difficulties in school. Participants were N = 7,447 children (50.1% girls) from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). Latent direct, indirect, and interaction path analyses were performed within a structural equation framework. Results showed that mother-rated childhood shyness from age 18 months to age five years was associated with mother-rated internalizing difficulties and language problems at age eight years. Lower levels of teacher-reported social play behaviors and poorer language skills in preschool increased the risk of later anxiety problems among shy children, whereas higher levels of language competencies and social play behaviors buffered against later anxiety problems. The study identifies some of the early risk and protective factors that may influence shy children's socio-emotional functioning and adjustment.

Longitudinal investigation of shyness and physiological vulnerability: Moderating influences of attention biases to threat and safety

Shyness has long been identified as a vulnerability factor to developing psychosocial problems, but there is heterogeneity in these observed outcomes. One potential factor underlying these relations is individual differences in threat sensitivity. Using a longitudinal design, we examined whether attentional biases toward social threat and safety measured during adulthood moderated the association between shyness measured in emerging adulthood (N = 83, n_female = 48; M_age = 23.56 years, SD_age = 1.09 years) and frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) asymmetry at rest, a physiological index of vulnerability to psychopathology, measured nearly a decade later in adulthood (M_age = 31.68 years, SD_age = 2.27 years). We found that only biases to threat moderated the association between shyness and resting frontal EEG asymmetry longitudinally. In individuals who displayed relative vigilance to social threat, shyness was associated with greater relative right frontal EEG activity at rest (i.e., increased physiological vulnerability). These findings suggest that attentional biases to threat may play a role in understanding the relation between shyness and some known physiological vulnerabilities to psychopathology in adults.

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.

Taking parent personality and child temperament into account in child language development

Individual differences have become increasingly important in the study of child development and language. However, despite the important role parents play in children's language, no work has examined how parent personality impacts language development. The current study examines the impact of parent personality as well as child temperament on language development in 460 16- to 30-month-old children and 328 31- to 42-month-old children. Findings from both groups suggest multiple aspects of children's language abilities are correlated with their parent's personality. Specifically, parent consciousness, openness, and agreeableness positively correlate with child vocabulary size and other language abilities. Results also replicate and expand research on child temperament and language - child effortful control and surgency were positively correlated, and negative affect negatively correlated with most language abilities even after controlling for parent personality. Critically, parent and child traits appear to impact a child's language abilities above and beyond well-known predictors of language, such as age.

Measuring Young Children's Executive Function and Self-Regulation in Classrooms and Other Real-World Settings

A number of different approaches are currently used for assessing young children's executive function (EF) and self-regulation (SR) skills. Nevertheless, guidance for stakeholders aiming to assess EF and SR in real-world settings (e.g., preschool classrooms) is currently lacking. In the present article, I review the properties, strengths, and weaknesses of three common approaches to EF and SR measurement: direct assessments, adult reports, and observational tools. Building on this general review, I next highlight several considerations specific to EF and SR measurement of young children in everyday contexts. In particular, I consider the ecological validity, interpretability, and scalability of each approach to EF and SR measurement, concluding with future directions for research.

Effects of anxiety, language skills, and cultural adaptation on the development of selective mutism

Although bilingual children are thought to be at higher risk for selective mutism (SM), little is known about the development of SM in this population. This study investigates the effects of children's anxiety and language skills and parents' cultural adaptation on the development of SM. 15 bilingual (11 mute, 4 speaking at the beginning of the study) and 15 monolingual children (7 mute, 8 speaking at the beginning of the study) between the ages of 3 years and 5 years 8 months were assessed longitudinally over a 9-month period. Children's anxiety and parents' cultural adaptation were examined via parent questionnaires. Receptive language skills were assessed with a standardized test. Every 3 months, parents and preschool teachers reported on the children's speaking behavior via questionnaires. Anxiety best predicted the development of mute behavior. There was no effect of bilingual status on its own. The effect of language skills did not reach significance but was considerably higher in preschool settings in comparison with family and public situations. Results also indicated an association between parents' orientation to the mainstream culture and children's speaking behavior in preschool. Level of anxiety might function as an early indicator of SM, especially in bilingual children, when information on language proficiency is scarce. There is still a need for intensive research in order to further the understanding of the development of SM in bilingual children.

Future Directions for Research on Early Intervention for Young Children at Risk for Social Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are common among young children, with earlier onset typically associated with greater severity and persistence. A stable behaviorally inhibited (BI) temperament and subsequent shyness and social withdrawal (SW) place children at increased risk of developing anxiety disorders, particularly social anxiety. In this Future Directions article, we briefly review developmental and clinical research and theory that point to parenting and peer interactions as key moderators of both the stability of BI/SW and risk for later anxiety, and we describe existing interventions that address early BI/SW and/or anxiety disorders in young children. We recommend that future research on early intervention to disrupt the trajectory of anxiety in children at risk (a) be informed by both developmental science and clinical research, (b) incorporate multiple levels of analysis (including both individual and contextual factors), (c) examine mediators that move us closer to understanding how and why treatments work, (d) be developed with the end goal of dissemination, (e) examine moderators of outcome toward the goal of treatment efficiency, (f) consider transdiagnostic or modular approaches, (g) integrate technology, and (h) consider cultural norms regarding BI/SW/anxiety and parenting.

Sleep duration moderates the association between children's temperament and academic achievement

The primary goal of this study was to determine whether sleep duration moderated the relations of two dimensions of children's temperament, shyness and negative emotion, to academic achievement. In the autumn, parents and teachers reported on kindergarteners' and first graders' (N = 103) shyness and negative emotion and research assistants observed negative emotion in the classroom. In the spring, children wore actigraphs that measured their sleep for five consecutive school nights, and they completed the Woodcock Johnson-III standardized tests of achievement. Interactions between temperament and sleep duration predicting academic achievement were computed. Interactions of sleep duration with parent-reported shyness, teacher-reported negative emotion, and observed negative emotion indicated that the negative relations of shyness or negative emotion to academic achievement were strongest when children slept less. Results suggest that sleep duration may be an important bio-regulatory factor to consider in young children's early academic achievement.

The effect of shyness on children's formation and retention of novel word-object mappings

This study set out to examine whether shyness, an aversion to novelty and unfamiliar social situations, can affect the processes that underlie early word learning. Twenty-four-month-old children (n =32) were presented with sets of one novel and two familiar objects, and it was found that shyer children were less likely to select a novel object as the referent of a novel label. Furthermore, not-shy children then showed evidence of retaining these novel mappings, but shy children did not. These findings suggest that shy children's aversion to novelty and to the unfamiliar context can impact on their word learning.

Testing alternative hypotheses regarding the association between behavioral inhibition and language development in toddlerhood

Studies have reported an inverse association between language development and behavioral inhibition or shyness across childhood, but the direction of this association remains unclear. This study tested alternative hypotheses regarding this association in a large sample of toddlers. Data on behavioral inhibition and expressive and receptive language abilities were collected from 816 twins at ages 14, 20, and 24 months. Growth and regression models were fit to the data to assess the longitudinal associations between behavioral inhibition and language development from 14 to 24 months. Overall, there were significant associations between behavioral inhibition and expressive language, and minimal associations with receptive language, indicating that the association is better explained by reticence to respond rather than deficient language development.

Mothers' early depressive symptoms and children's first-grade adjustment: a transactional analysis of child withdrawal as a mediator

BACKGROUND

The depression-inhibition hypothesis suggests that mothers' depressive symptoms undermine development because they lead children to withdraw from social contact. To test this, this study examined whether poor first-grade adjustment among children of mothers with depressive symptoms is mediated by the emergence of child withdrawal in early development.

METHOD

Based on 1,364 dyads, four waves of data spanning from 24 months to first grade (7 years) were used to examine paths by which children's withdrawal mediates relations between mothers' early depressive symptoms and three first-grade outcomes: social competence, academic performance, and externalizing behavior problems.

RESULTS

Structural equation modeling revealed three principal paths. First, direct relations were observed: Mothers' depressive symptoms predicted early child withdrawal and increases in child withdrawal over time, which predicted poor first-grade adjustment. Second, reciprocal relations were observed: Mothers' depressive symptoms predicted child withdrawal, which predicted increases in depressive symptoms. Third, relations via mother-child mutual responsiveness were observed: Depression-related increases in child withdrawal predicted declines in mutual responsiveness, which predicted poor first-grade adjustment.

CONCLUSION

The findings suggest that, due to its interdependence with maternal depression and low mother-child mutual responsiveness over time, child withdrawal may play an important role in the poor first-grade adjustment of children whose mothers are high in depressive symptoms.

Social withdrawal in childhood

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.

Language skills in shy and non-shy preschoolers and the effects of assessment context

Nineteen shy, twenty-three middle and twenty-five non-shy junior kindergarten children were assessed at school by an unfamiliar examiner, and at home where their parents administered a parallel form of the expressive and receptive vocabulary tests given at school. A speech sample between the child and parent was also collected at home. Shy children spoke less than non-shy and middle children at home. Additionally, the parents of shy children spoke less than parents of non-shy children. Although there were no language differences between the groups, results showed a context effect for expressive vocabulary, in that all groups of children scored higher at school. The pattern of results suggests that previously observed language differences found between shy and non-shy children are not robust, and that testing children at school does not negatively impact their performance.

Don’t Fret, Be Supportive! Maternal Characteristics Linking Child Shyness to Psychosocial and School Adjustment in Kindergarten

The goal of this study was to explore the moderating role of maternal personality and parenting characteristics in the links between shyness and adjustment in kindergarten. Participants were 197 children enrolled in kindergarten programs (and their mothers and teachers). Multisource assessment was employed, including maternal ratings, behavioral observations, teacher ratings, and individual child interviews. Results indicated that shyness was associated with a wide range of socio-emotional and school adjustment difficulties in kindergarten. Moreover, support for the moderating role of parenting was also found. Relations between shyness and certain indices of maladjustment were stronger among children with mothers characterized by higher neuroticism, BIS sensitivity, and an overprotective parenting style, and weaker for mothers characterized by high agree-ableness and an authoritative parenting style.