Revisiting associations between behavioral inhibition/shyness and social competence in young Chinese children
Sociohistorical imprint on three samples
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9788047 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Shuyang Dong (0000-0003-1289-7727, University of Hong Kong, corresponding author), Yue Song (0000-0001-5190-2088, Nanjing Normal University), Judith Semon Dubas (0000-0003-2462-4427, Utrecht University), Nanhua Cheng (0000-0003-1997-7009, Capital Normal University), Xi Liang (0000-0002-0674-2246, Capital Normal University), Qiqi Yuan (Nanjing Normal University), Zhengyan Wang (0000-0003-0178-804X, Capital Normal University) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 60 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 978-989 |
| Publication date | 2024-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Developmental Psychology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599 |
| Publisher | American Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1037/dev0001711 |
| PMID | 38512190 |
| OpenAlex | W4393039871 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
While negative associations between behavioral inhibition/shyness and social competence are well established for children from Western cultures, the directions of these associations have been inconsistent for Chinese children, partly due to the ongoing social-cultural changes in China. Drawing from three samples of young Chinese children (born between 2009 and 2019), we aim at examining how inhibition/shyness predicts cooperative behaviors and prosocial behaviors throughout early childhood. In Study 1 ( N = 700, children aged between 36 and 72 months), mother-reported inhibition/shyness was negatively associated with mother-reported cooperative and prosocial behaviors during the preschool years. In Study 2 ( N = 251, at 6, 15, 25, and 37 months of children's ages), mother-reported inhibition/shyness in infancy was negatively associated with mother-reported cooperative behaviors but was not related to observed cooperative behaviors at the early preschool age. Infancy inhibition/shyness was negatively associated with mother-reported and observed prosocial behaviors. In Study 3 ( N = 95, at 14, 25, 38, and 60 months of children's ages), the inhibition/shyness trait, assessed by both observation and maternal report, did not predict any indicators of cooperative behaviors. Early childhood inhibition/shyness, however, still predicted fewer observed and mother-reported prosocial behaviors. On balance, our research supports a negative association between early inhibition/shyness and later prosocial behaviors. The mixed findings concerning cooperative behaviors are interpreted in light of sociopolitical changes in China during the past two decades. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved)
Anxiety · Behavioral inhibition · Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Personality · Prosocial behavior · PsycINFO · Shyness · Temperament · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Child Development and Digital Technology · Psychology · Social Psychology
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |