A Person-Oriented Analysis of Social Withdrawal in Chinese Children

摘要

The goal of this study was to compare the socio-emotional and academic adjustment of different subtypes of socially withdrawn (shy, unsociable, avoidant) school-age children in mainland China. Participants were N=1344 children ages 10-12 years from public elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multi-source assessment included: child self-reports of social withdrawal subtypes and internalizing difficulties (e.g., depression, social anxiety); peer nominations of children's peer relations (e.g., peer victimization, peer preference); and teacher ratings of children's school adjustment (e.g., academic success, internalizing problems). Results from person-oriented analyses indicated that socially avoidant (i.e., shy-unsociable) children reported the most pervasive internalizing difficulties compared to other groups. However, in contrast to findings among Western samples, unsociable children were as likely to have peer and academic difficulties as their shy and socially avoidant peers. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different subtypes of social withdrawal among children in collectivistic societies such as China.

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