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Shyness and Social Adjustment among Chinese Preschoolers: the Moderating Role of Student-Teacher Relationship
2018, 41(5):
1130-1137.
Shyness is characterized by wariness and anxiety when faced with novel social interactions and the perception of social evaluation (Coplan & Armer, 2007). Although shy children may desire to initiate social contact with others (i.e., social approach motivation), this approach motivation is inhibited by social fear and anxiety (i.e., social avoidance motivation) (Coplan, Prakash, O’Neil, & Armer, 2004). Over the last 20 years. China has experienced large-scale societal reforms, some Western cultural values such as initiative, self-expression, and assertiveness are becoming more adaptive in urban areas of China. Shy children in recent years showed maladjustment, including internalizing problem (loneliness, anxiety, depressive symptoms), peer difficulties (peer rejection, victimization), low quality student-teacher relationship and poor academic achievement.
However, not all shy children suffer adjustment difficulties. Researchers have explored factors ameliorating or exacerbating the maladjustment between shyness and social adjustment. Relationships with teachers play a critical role in children’s socio-emotional development, particularly in early childhood. Negative relationship with teachers were associated with children negative outcomes. To our knowledge, there is little previous studies of shyness and student-teacher relationship, especially among Chinese preschoolers.
The goal of the current study was to examine the student-teacher relationship between shyness and indices of adjustment (i.e., interpersonal skills, verbal assertion, internalizing problems, asocial behavior, and excluded by peers). Participants were 360 children (200 boys, 55.6%, Mage = 4.73，SD = .57) from two public kindergartens, Shanghai. Mothers completed Child Social Preference Scale (CSPS; Coplan et al., 2004), of particular interest for the present study was the subscale of shyness (11 items, α = .87). One and a half years later, teachers rated Student-teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta & Steinberg, 1992), the STRS consists of 28 items and has been shown to contain the following three factors: Closeness (11 items, α = .84), Conflict (12 items, α = .81), and Dependency (5 items, α = .71). Teachers also completed the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS; Gresham & Elliott, 1990), of particular interest for the present study was the subscale of Interpersonal skills (11 items, α = .92), Verbal assertion (7 items, α = .87), and Internalizing problems (4 items, α = .79). Teachers finally completed the Child Behavior Scale (CBS; Ladd & Profilet, 1996), of particular interest for the present study was the subscale of Asocial with peers (6 items, α = .85), and Excluded by peers (7 items, α = .85)
Among the results, shyness and negative student-teacher relationship were related to child social adjustment difficulties (i.e, internalizing problem, asocial behavior, and excluded by peers), whereas close student-teacher relationship were associated with indices of positive outcomes (interpersonal skills, verbal assertion). However, the research further explored the moderating role of student-teacher relationship between shyness and outcomes. The results indicated conflict student-teacher relationship played a moderating role between shyness and interpersonal skills, verbal assertion, internalizing problem, asocial behavior and exclude by peers. Dependent student-teacher relationship moderated the association between shyness and asocial behavior.
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