Shyness Predicts Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents

Murberg, Terje A.

doi:10.1177/0143034309107065

Cited by 22 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In line with previous findings (Chan, ; Murberg and Bru, ; Murberg, ), adolescent depressive mood was related positively to shyness but negatively to self‐esteem and social support. Furthermore, shyness, self‐esteem and perceived social support all have predictive power over CDI.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Depressive mood in Chinese early adolescents: Relations with shyness, self‐esteem and perceived social support

Chan

2012

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: While depression affects adolescents' psychological functioning and adjustment, studies of Hong Kong adolescents show that more than 20% of this population suffer from depressive symptoms. Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed to examine how depressive mood was related to shyness, self-esteem and social support in a sample of 326 early Chinese adolescents. Data were collected using selfreport questionnaires. Participants completed the Children Depression Inventory (CDI), Children's Shyness Questionnaire (CSQ), Rosenberg's Self-esteem Scale and five items measuring perceived social support. Results: Based on the CDI cut-off point (Ն20) adopted in the West (Kovacs), 20.9% of the sample was classified as having depressive symptoms, a percentage that was double that reported in Western studies. Regression analyses results showed that shyness predicted depressive mood in the positive direction and self-esteem and perceived social support in the negative direction. Furthermore, a mediation model was established in which the effects of shyness on depressive mood were mediated by self-esteem and social support. Discussion: Professionals should offer age-appropriate social skill training to shy adolescents who have low self-esteem and poor peer relationship.bs_bs_banner Offi cial journal of the Pacifi c Rim College of Psychiatrists

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…This perspective proposes interpersonal behaviors as potential antecedents of depression (Joiner, ). In this connection, shyness was found to be a significant predictor of depressive symptoms (Joiner, ; Murberg, ). Researchers distinguish two kinds of shyness: fearful and self‐conscious (Buss, ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Depressive mood in Chinese early adolescents: Relations with shyness, self‐esteem and perceived social support

Chan

2012

Asia-Pacific Psychiatry

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For socially anxious adolescents, then, being able to frequently discuss problems with friends might have another consequence, as it could boost their social skills and help relieve their sense of loneliness, thereby resulting in less depressive symptoms over time. As lack of social support might be a risk factor for developing symptoms of depression for shy adolescents [ 36 ], this seems a reasonable assumption. However overindulgent a co-ruminating relationship might be for adolescents who do not struggle with social anxiety, we propose that it might buffer the links with depressive symptoms for those who do.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-rumination buffers the link between social anxiety and depressive symptoms in early adolescence

Zalk

Tillfors

2017

Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesWe examined whether co-rumination with online friends buffered the link between social anxiety and depressive symptoms over time in a community sample.MethodsIn a sample of 526 participants (358 girls; M age = 14.05) followed at three time points, we conducted a latent cross-lagged model with social anxiety, depressive symptoms, and co-rumination, controlling for friendship stability and friendship quality, and adding a latent interaction between social anxiety and co-rumination predicting depressive symptoms.ResultsSocial anxiety predicted depressive symptoms, but no direct links between social anxiety and co-rumination emerged. Instead, co-rumination buffered the link between social anxiety and depressive symptoms for adolescents with higher but not lower levels of social anxiety.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that co-rumination exerted a positive influence on interpersonal relationships by diminishing the influence from social anxiety on depressive symptoms over time.

show abstract

“…However, not all shy children experience such negative outcomes, and there are a number of factors that influence the degree to which shyness relates to negative socioemotional functioning, such as peer support (Murberg, ) and high‐quality friendships (Fordham & Stevenson‐Hinde, ). Understanding the individual differences that influence the impact shyness has for a child's socioemotional functioning has both theoretical and applied relevance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shy children's understanding of irony: Better comprehension does not always mean better socioemotional functioning

Mewhort-Buist

Nilsen

2019

Infant and Child Development

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Childhood shyness is a risk factor for negative socioemotional outcomes including loneliness and depression. Childhood shyness has also been found to relate to various aspects of pragmatic language. For instance, shyer children rate ironic criticisms (i.e., where a speaker's intended meaning is the opposite of what is literally said) as meaner than do less shy children. This study examined whether relations between shyness and socioemotional functioning (i.e., loneliness, depression, and peer experiences) in children (9–12 years old; N = 169) were moderated by irony comprehension ability. Using a series of vignettes and self‐report measures, it was found that shyer children with better irony comprehension skill reported increased loneliness and depression symptoms, as well as fewer prosocial experiences with peers. Similarly, for girls, better comprehension strengthened the relationship between shyness and peer victimization. In contrast, for shy boys, better irony comprehension was associated with a reduction in peer victimization. Thus, for certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous. Highlights The present work examined whether relations between children's reported shyness and socioemotional functioning were moderated by irony comprehension. Children viewed comic strips of characters interacting and completed measures of shyness, loneliness, depression, and peer victimization. Shy children with better irony comprehension reported increased loneliness and depression. Having greater insight into communicative intentions for others may allow shy children to recognize social shortcomings. For certain vulnerable populations, having better sociocommunicative skills may not be advantageous.

show abstract

Shyness Predicts Depressive Symptoms Among Adolescents

Cited by 22 publications

References 26 publications

Depressive mood in Chinese early adolescents: Relations with shyness, self‐esteem and perceived social support

Depressive mood in Chinese early adolescents: Relations with shyness, self‐esteem and perceived social support

Co-rumination buffers the link between social anxiety and depressive symptoms in early adolescence

Shy children's understanding of irony: Better comprehension does not always mean better socioemotional functioning

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About