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Chinese Mothers’ Cultural Models of Children's Shyness: Ethnotheories and Socialization Strategies in the Context of Social Change
Author(s) -
Liu Jia Li,
Harkness Sara,
Super Charles M.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
new directions for child and adolescent development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.628
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1534-8687
pISSN - 1520-3247
DOI - 10.1002/cad.20340
Subject(s) - shyness , psychology , developmental psychology , socialization , parenting styles , child rearing , assertiveness , social psychology , context (archaeology) , anxiety , paleontology , psychiatry , biology
Research by Xinyin Chen and others has documented that in past decades, shyness in Chinese children was associated with leadership, peer‐acceptance, and academic achievement. In contemporary China, shyness predicts maladaptive youth outcomes. Although social, political, and economic transitions are presumed to be responsible for this shift, little is known about how societal change mediates parents’ beliefs and the socialization of shy children. This qualitative study explored implicit parenting cognitions and attitudes about shyness in a Chinese urban middle‐class group of mothers (N = 20). Thematic analyses revealed mothers’ beliefs about the role of family socialization in the development/maintenance of shyness and the complexities between shyness and introversion. Mothers spoke of increased use of child‐centered parenting practices and the promotion of assertive and self‐assured traits. These findings highlight how Chinese parenting has contributed to the decline in the adaptive value of shyness, and inform the development of parenting interventions for shy Chinese children.