Early Childhood Reticent and Solitary-Passive Behaviors and Adjustment Outcomes in Chinese Children

Abstract

Little is known about the developmental outcomes of children's social withdrawal in non-Western societies. The present study examined how two main forms of social withdrawal, social reticence and solitary-passive behavior, in early childhood were associated with adjustment in late childhood in Chinese children (75 boys and 92 girls). Data on reticent and solitary-passive behaviors were collected at 4 years of age from laboratory observations. Follow-up data on school, behavioral, and psychological adjustment were collected at 11 years of age from multiple sources. It was found that whereas reticent behavior mainly predicted later psychological problems such as loneliness and depression, solitary-passive behavior predicted later school incompetence and externalizing problems. The results suggest that reticence and solitary-passive behavior may represent distinct forms of withdrawal that play different roles in maladaptive development in Chinese context.

Prosocial Behavior and Friendship Quality as Moderators of the Association Between Anxious Withdrawal and Peer Experiences in Portuguese Young Adolescents

“…Our results contribute to a growing body of research carried out in distinct cultural contexts (e.g., Gullone et al, 2006; Rubin et al, 2006; Sette et al, 2014; Chen et al, 2015; Ojanen et al, 2017), by showing that Portuguese anxiously withdrawn adolescents experience greater difficulties and less success in their contact with the peer group. Consistent with prior research (e.g., Rubin et al, 2006), we found that anxious withdrawal significantly predicted higher levels of peer exclusion and victimization, as well as lower popularity/sociability.…”

“…At present, researchers have yet to examine the significance of friendship for anxiously withdrawn Portuguese youth. Most studies of anxious withdrawn behavior have involved samples in North America (e.g., Rubin, 1993; Gazelle and Rudolph, 2004; Rubin et al, 2006), Asia (e.g., China – Chen et al, 2014, 2015), Australia (e.g., Gullone et al, 2006), Cuba (Valdivia et al, 2005), South America (e.g., Saldarriaga et al, 2012), and some countries in Europe (e.g., Italy, Finland and Netherlands – Cillessen et al, 1992; Casiglia et al, 1998; Sette et al, 2014; Ojanen et al, 2017). Few, if any, studies have been published on samples based in Portugal and, therefore, virtually nothing is known about the causes, correlates and consequences of withdrawn behavior among Portuguese youth.…”

Infant withdrawal and behavior problems in urban Chinese toddlers: Roles of maternal sensitivity to infant distress and emerging delay ability

“…The process involved in the relations may be complex and need to be investigated systematically. In particular, considering that recent findings have suggested that different kinds of temperamental withdrawal behaviors may play different roles in maladaptive development in the Chinese context (Chen et al., ), it would be important to measure children's temperamental withdrawal tendency after they begin to socialize with peers in the future. An additional limitation is the use of only maternal reports of infant temperamental withdrawal and toddlers’ behavior problems, rather than both parents’ reports.…”

“…The current study examined the relations between infants’ temperamental withdrawal and behavior problems assessed in toddlerhood. According to Chen et al.’s () findings in the Chinese cultural context and Edwards and Hans’ () findings on infants, we hypothesized that infants who were rated as highly withdrawn by their mothers at 6 months of age would exhibit increased internalizing and externalizing problems at 1 and 2 years of age. In addition to these direct effects, we also explored MSID observed in infant–mother interaction at 6 months of age as a moderator of the associations between infant temperamental withdrawal and subsequent behavior problems.…”

“…One study has found that infants who are highly distressed in response to novelty are at increased risk of developing externalizing problems (Edwards & Hans, ). The other study has indicated that Chinese preschoolers’ unsocial behavior, a type of withdrawn behavior exhibited in a social situation, is associated with externalizing problems 7 years later (Chen, Chen, Li, Wang, & Wang, ). Chen () suggested that children who prefer aloneness and maintain distance from others may be considered anticollective, selfish, and deviant and experience social disapproval and rejection; the negative feedback received from others may create an adverse environment for their development, which may result in negative emotions such as frustration and anger, which in turn may lead to externalizing behavior problems.…”