Child and Adolescent Social Withdrawal and Subsequent Adult Psychosocial Adjustment, Health, and Intergenerational Transfer of Risk

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

This symposium features state of the art analyses of international evidence on childhood and adolescent social withdrawal and subsequent adult psychosocial and health outcomes and intergenerational transfer of risk, and highlights future directions for research in this area. The symposium opens with evidence for poor physical activity and sleep quality in adults with childhood histories of increasing shyness trajectories, suggesting heightened cardio-metabolic risk. The next presentation integrates findings across multiple reports on the Concordia Longitudinal Project to identify key mediating processes predicting poor adult family resources and intergenerational transfer or risk. This integrative analysis highlights a cascade of mediation processes that link childhood social withdrawal to poor academic achievement, low educational and occupational attainment, teenage motherhood, and poverty in families of destination, as well as to non-responsive parenting of offspring, and offspring internalizing difficulties. The third presentation features a meta-analysis of all available international evidence from prospective longitudinal studies of childhood and adolescent social withdrawal and subsequent adult psychosocial and health outcomes and intergenerational transfer of risk. The meta-analysis reveals robust support across studies for childhood and adolescent social withdrawal as a predictor of adult social anxiety disorder, interpersonal difficulties in multiple close relationships, and potential generational differences in gender specific patterns of adult developmental milestones. Further, the meta-analysis reveals that adults with childhood and adolescent histories of social withdrawal are at reduced risk for substance abuse after controlling for aggression. The symposium concludes with integrative comments from a discussant with broad experience in childhood and adolescent social withdrawal.

Sub Unit

• Social Relationships

Chair

• Heidi Gazelle, Florida State Univeristy

Discussant

• Robert J. Coplan, Carleton University

Individual Presentations

• Trajectories of Shyness Across the Life Course: Associations With Health-behaviors and Cardiometabolic Risk in the Fifth Decade of Life - Presenting Author: Alva Tang, University of Texas at Dallas; Karen Mathewson; Ryan J. Van Lieshout; Louis A. Schmidt, McMaster University

• Childhood Social Withdrawal Predicts Adult Family Resources and Parenting: Pathways to Intergenerational Risk - Presenting Author: Lisa A Serbin, Concordia University; Dale M Stack, Concordia University

• Child and Adolescent Social Withdrawal and Subsequent Adult Psychosocial Adjustment: A Meta-analysis - Presenting Author: Jessie K Lundin, Northern Arizona University; Heidi Gazelle, Florida State Univeristy