Poster #159 - Chinese Immigrant and Local Hong Kong Mothers' Conceptualizations of Three Types of Shyness

• In Event: 1-005 - Poster Session 01
  In Poster Session: PS 01 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

According to the developmental niche framework (Super & Harkness, 1986), parents’ cultural beliefs (e.g. ethnotheories) affect children’s development by influencing parental behavior (Cheah & Rubin, 2004). Concurrently, children’s temperaments shape their social interactions. Shyness is wariness and anxiety when faced with social novelty and perceived social evaluation (Coplan et al., 2007) and is associated with mixed developmental outcomes in China. Prior to the 1990s, shy children were viewed as polite and respectful (Xu et al., 2007) and were socially adjusted (Chen et al., 1995). However, recent socioeconomic changes and westernization resulted in the valuing of confidence and assertiveness. Shyness in China now predicts youth loneliness and depression (Hou, Chen, & Chen, 2005; Chen, Yang, & Wang, 2013) and encompasses at least three types (see Xu et al., 2007): (1) shyness toward strangers reflects fear and inhibition toward unfamiliar adults; (2) anxious shyness stems from sensitivity to negative social evaluation and conflicting approach and avoidance motivations; and (3) regulated shyness reflects modest, unassuming, and self-controlled social restraint. This study examined these maternal ethnotheories of shyness in Hong Kong - a city that blends Chinese roots with Western influences.

The sample consists of 73 local-born (Mage = 38.14, SD = 3.77) and 33 Mainland immigrant Chinese mothers (Mage = 37.73, SD = 4.58) of shy kindergarten children. Mothers were presented with hypothetical vignettes (see Figure 1) about protagonist children who demonstrated behaviors congruent with the three-factor model (Xu et al., 2009) and asked to provide causal explanations, adjectives, and views of typicality/normality. We hypothesized that immigrant mothers would perceive shyness as more acceptable and typical due to less Western influence from the mainstream culture. Two researchers established inter-rater agreement and analyzed interview data using thematic analysis (McClelland, 1975) and "open coding" (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). Additionally, themes were calculated as proportions for each group and chi-square analyses were conducted to determine group differences.

Similarities and differences emerged in mothers’ descriptors of the shyness types (see Table 1). “Shy,” “timid,” and “fearful” were used to describe all three; “slow to warm up” was used only for anxious shyness, and “obedient” and “low-profile” described regulated shyness. Contrary to our hypothesis, immigrant mothers were more likely to view shyness toward strangers as abnormal (X2 (1, N = 106) = 6.03, p =.01, φc=.24) and atypical (X2 (1, N = 106) = 14.71, p =.000, φc=.37). Narratives shed light on these discrepancies where immigrant mothers indicated that local children enjoy ample social activities and are taught to be sociable. Mixed positive and negative descriptors for regulated shyness highlighted the complexity of mothers’ attitudes, providing further evidence of the observed cultural shift. Finally, mothers’ emphasis on familial influences as a causal factor suggests a cultural orientation towards the malleability of child temperament. These findings represent a major step in understanding Chinese mothers’ conceptualizations of shyness. Additionally, that immigrant mothers viewed social wariness as abnormal and atypical underscores the need to provide families with educational resources on child development and temperament to address perceived worrisome child behaviors.

Authors

• Jia Li Liu, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Yuan Zhang, University of Connecticut
  Presenting Author

• Daniell Carvalheiro, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara Harkness, U. of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Florrie Fei-Yin Ng, Chinese University of Hong Kong
  Non-Presenting Author

• Charles M. Super, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Linda Citlali Halgunseth, UConn
  Non-Presenting Author