title: Relations between shyness-sensitivity and internalizing problems in Chinese children: moderating effects of academic achievement.
abstract: Shy-sensitive children are likely to develop adjustment problems in today's urban China as the country has evolved into an increasingly competitive, market-oriented society. The main purpose of this one-year longitudinal study was to examine the moderating effects of academic achievement on relations between shyness-sensitivity and later internalizing problems in Chinese children. A sample of 1171 school-age children (591 boys, 580 girls) in China, initially at the age of 9 years, participated in the study. Data on shyness, academic achievement, and internalizing problems were collected from multiple sources including peer evaluations, teacher ratings, self-reports, and school records. It was found that shyness positively and uniquely predicted later loneliness, depression, and teacher-rated internalizing problems, with the stability effect controlled, for low-achieving children, but not for high-achieving children. The results indicate that, consistent with the stress buffering model, academic achievement may be a buffering factor that serves to protect shy-sensitive children from developing psychological problems.
authors: Applied Psychology-Human Development Division, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104-6216, USA. xinyin@gse.upenn.edu
authors: Xinyin
authors: X
authors: Chen
authors: Fan
authors: F
authors: Yang
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000275:Adjustment Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D044466:Asian People / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002681:China; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007389:Internal-External Control; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008132:Loneliness; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012792:Shyness; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012963:Sociometric Techniques