title: Shyness-sensitivity and unsociability in rural Chinese children: relations with social, school, and psychological adjustment.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine how shyness-sensitivity and unsociability were associated with social, school, and psychological adjustment in rural Chinese children. Participants were third- to fifth-grade students (N = 820; M age = 10 years) in rural schools in P. R. China. Data on shyness-sensitivity, unsociability, and adjustment were obtained from multiple sources including peer assessments, sociometric nominations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. It was found that unsociability was associated with social, school, and psychological problems, whereas shyness was generally associated with indexes of adjustment such as social status, teacher-rated competence, and academic achievement. The results indicate that rural Chinese context may play an important role in defining the functional meanings of children's social behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Applied Psychology-Human Development, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216, USA. xinyin@gse.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Xinyin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Ruixin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cao
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D003863:Depression / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D012792:Shyness; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012933:Social Identification; D012938:Social Perception; D012951:Socialization; D012963:Sociometric Techniques