Three Types of Shyness in Chinese Children and the Relation to Effortful Control

Two studies were conducted to further differentiate 3 forms of shyness previously identified in Chinese children-shyness toward strangers, anxious shyness, and regulated shyness-by examining the relation of the 3 forms of shyness to children's inhibited behavior, physiological reactivity (measured by heart period [HP]), and effortful control. In Study I (N = 237; M age = 9.17 years), the authors examined the 3 forms of shyness in relation to children's inhibited behavior and HP assessed in 3 conditions: at baseline, during a stranger encounter, and in a card-sorting task with social evaluative cues. Results of confirmatory factor analyses provided support for a 3-factor model of shyness. Shyness toward strangers was associated with children's inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the stranger encounter and children's HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session, whereas anxious shyness was related to children's inhibition (positively) and HP (negatively) in the card-sorting session. Regulated shyness was not associated with children's inhibition in any session but was negatively related to HP in the stranger encounter session. In Study 2 (N = 208; M age = 6.57 years), the authors examined children's shyness toward strangers and effortful control at age 6 years in relation to anxious and regulated shyness 2 years later. Results showed shyness toward strangers was related to regulated shyness among children with high or moderate effortful control, and shyness toward strangers was related to anxious shyness among children with low or moderate effortful control. Findings support a multidimensional view of shyness in Chinese children.