Being alone, playing alone, and acting alone: distinguishing among reticence and passive and active solitude in young children.
3 forms of solitude were studied in young children--reticence (onlooker and unoccupied behavior), solitary-passive behavior (solitary-constructive and -exploratory play), and solitary-active behavior (solitary-functional and -dramatic play). 48 4-year-old children grouped in quartets of same-sex unfamiliar peers were observed in several situations. Mothers completed the Colorado Temperament Inventory. Results indicated that (1) solitary-passive, solitary-active, and reticent behaviors were nonsignificantly intercorrelated; (2) reticence was stable and associated with the demonstration of anxiety and hovering near others, whereas solitary-passive and solitary-active play were stable yet unrelated to anxiety and hovering; (3) reticence during free play was generally associated with poor performance and displays of wariness in several other social situations, while solitary-passive and -active play were not; (4) reticence was associated with maternal ratings of child shyness, while solitary-active behavior was associated with maternal ratings of impulsivity. Results are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanisms associated with reticence and passive and active withdrawal.
Coplan
R J
RJ
Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Rubin
K H
KH
Fox
N A
NA
Calkins
S D
SD
Stewart
S L
SL
D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D002666:Psychology, Child; D013694:Temperament