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Young C hinese children's beliefs about the implications of subtypes of social withdrawal: A first look at social avoidance
Author(s) -
Ding Xuechen,
Coplan Robert J.,
Sang Biao,
Liu Junsheng,
Pan Tingting,
Cheng Chen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
british journal of developmental psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.062
H-Index - 75
eISSN - 2044-835X
pISSN - 0261-510X
DOI - 10.1111/bjdp.12081
Subject(s) - social withdrawal , psychology , shyness , developmental psychology , social cognition , cognition , anxiety , psychiatry
The goal of this study was to examine young Chinese children's beliefs about the implications of different subtypes of social withdrawal (e.g., shyness, unsociability), including for the first time, social avoidance. Participants were 133 children in kindergarten ( n = 58, M age = 70.85 months) and grade 1 ( n = 75, M age = 83.49 months). Children were presented with vignettes describing hypothetical peers displaying shy, unsociable, avoidant, and socially competent behaviours and were then asked a series of questions to assess their beliefs about the implications of these different behaviours. Young children made distinctions between social withdrawal subtypes in terms of underlying motivations and emotions. Children also appeared to hold differential beliefs about the implications of different forms of social withdrawal: Of note, they anticipated that socially avoidant peers would experience the most negative outcomes. These findings provide some of the first evidence to suggest that social avoidance represents a distinct form of social withdrawal among young C hinese children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of distinguishing between different subtypes of social withdrawal in C hinese culture.