Poster #212 - Shyness, Social Relationships, and Children's Self-Conscious Emotions at Preschool

• In Event: 3-159 - Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Section - Social, Emotional, Personality

Integrative Statement

In early childhood, peers and teachers represent important actors in children’s social lives, contributing to their socio-emotional development and well-being (Rubin, Bukowski, & Bowker, 2015; Santos et al., 2014). For example, positive peer experiences (e.g., peer acceptance) have been widely associated with indices of social adjustment, academic achievement, and emotion regulation (Calkins & Mackler, 2011; Ladd, 2005; Santos et al., 2014). Similarly, studies have demonstrated the importance of close and secure teacher-child relationships in promoting children’s socially competent behaviors and school adjustment (e.g., Sabol & Pianta, 2012).
Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by fear and wariness in novel social contexts (Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009). Shy children are thought to be at particular risk for difficulties, because their social fears may lead them to miss out on important experiences with peers and teachers (Coplan & Arbeau, 2008). Furthermore, shy children are particularly prone to elevated socio-evaluative concerns, suggesting they readily experience self-conscious emotions (Henderson, Gilbert, & Zimbardo, 2014; Rubin et al., 2009). Such self-conscious emotions (e.g., shame and guilt) function as an emotional barometer that provides feedback about the self and ones’ social and moral behaviors. Difficulties with peers (i.e., peer rejection and victimization) and poor-quality relationships with teachers may both serve to explain why shyness is linked to children’s self-conscious emotions. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to assess both negative peer experiences and teacher-child relationships as possible mediators of the link between shyness and self-conscious emotions in young children.
Participants were N=131 young children (64 boys, Mage=4.64 years, SD=0.81) recruited from preschools in Italy. Multi-source assessment was employed, with parents rating children’s shyness and self-conscious emotions (i.e., guilt, shame), and teachers evaluating children’s peer difficulties (i.e., rejection, victimization) and the quality (i.e., closeness) of their relationship with each child. See Table 1 for correlations between the study variables. To examine whether negative peer experiences and teacher-child relationships mediate the relation between shyness and self-conscious emotions, we conducted path analyses using Mplus 8 (Muthén & Muthén, 2017). Overall the model, controlling for age and gender, fit the data well, χ2(1,N=131)=0.88, p=.35,CFI=1.00,RMSEA=.001(90%CI[.001,.226]),SRMR=.01.
As shown in Figure 1, children’s shyness was positively associated with both peer difficulties and self-conscious emotions. Furthermore, the standardized indirect path from shyness to self-conscious emotions through peer difficulties was significant, 95% CI[.01,.10]. That is, shyness was positively associated peer difficulties, which in turn was positively associated with self-conscious emotions. We also found a significant negative association between shyness and teacher-child relationship. However, teacher-child relationship was not significantly associated with self-conscious emotions.
These findings suggest that shy children are prone to difficulties with peers which, in turn, may exacerbate shy children’s feelings of self-consciousness. In contrast, although shy children had poorer quality relationships with teachers, this poor-quality relationship did not significantly mediate the relation between shyness and self-conscious emotions. Taken together, this study highlights the role of peer difficulties in influencing shy children’s negative self-conscious emotions. Accordingly, ameliorating young children’s experiences with peers may help to reduce their negative self-evaluations, and improve socio-emotional functioning.

Authors

• Danielle Baldwin, Carleton University
  Presenting Author

• Stefania Sette, Sapienza University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Federica Zava, Sapienza University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emma Baumgartner, Sapienza University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Robert J Coplan, Carleton University
  Non-Presenting Author