The Impact of Shyness on Loneliness, Social Anxiety, and School Liking in Late Childhood

Author: Charity M. Walker Title: THE IMPACT OF SHYNESS ON LONELINESS, SOCIAL ANXIETY, AND SCHOOL LIKING IN LATE CHILDHOOD Advisor: Maria T. Riva, Ph.D. Degree Date: August 2011 ABSTRACT Shyness is associated with several emotional, social, and academic problems. While there are multiple difficulties that often accompany shyness, there appear to be some factors that can moderate negative effects of shyness. Research has demonstrated that certain parenting factors affect the adjustment of shy children in early childhood, but there is minimal research illuminating the effect of parenting factors in older age groups. The first purpose of this study was to examine relationships between shyness and loneliness, social anxiety, and school liking. The second purpose was to investigate whether the quality of the relationship between a parent and a 10- to 15-year-olds child influences the amount of loneliness or social anxiety a shy child experiences or how the child feels about school. Parent-child dyads served as participants and were recruited from public and private middle schools and church youth groups in Colorado and Indiana. Child participants completed several self-report surveys regarding their relationship with a parent, shyness, loneliness, social anxiety, and their attitude toward school. Parents completed a survey about their relationship with their child and responded to questions related to their perceptions of their child's shyness. Data was analyzed with a series of correlation and regression analyses. Greater degrees of self-reported shyness were found to be associated with higher levels of loneliness and social anxiety and less positive feelings about school. Due to a problem with multicollinearity during data analysis, this study was not able to explore the effect of the parent-child relationship quality on the associations between shyness and adjustment factors. Overall, these findings imply that shyness remains an important issue as children approach adolescence. Further research is needed to continue learning about the potential importance of parent-child interactions in reducing maladjustment for shy children during late childhood.

Ann Arbor High School, Michigan

Image from publication: Annual catalogue of the officers and pupils...Ann Arbor, Mich. : School District Board

Report of the Committee on Admissions from Secondary Schools, University of Illinois, for the year ...

"For information of high school authorities and others interested in the accrediting of high schools."

Public school finances.

Subtitle varies.

Mitchell's school atlas

Map no. 12 (Great Britain and Ireland)--and no. 13 (Germany, Switzerland and Northern Italy): "Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1840 ..." Cover and all others maps "Entered according ... 1839."

A follow-up study of graduates of the fifth-year program of teacher education at New York University, 1952-1953,

At head of title: New York University. School of Education.

Biennial report of the Board of Trustees and Superintendent of the Arkansas School for the Blind.

Description based on: 11th (1880-1882).

Biennial report of the Dept. for Colored Blind and Deaf of the Maryland School for the Blind.

Description based on: 1911/13.

A year's supervision of elementary instruction in Caroline County, 1923-1924.

Mode of access: Internet.

Biennial report of the Arkansas School for the Blind for the term commencing ...

Description based on: 28th (1918).

Biennial report of the Superintendent of the Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School to the Governor and the Board of Trustees [serial] : for the biennium ending ...

Report year ends in Nov. (1st and 5th report), Dec. (6th report), and June (7th-11th reports).

Report of the Commissioner of Education of the State of Maine for the school biennium ending ..

Report year ends June 30.

Uppingham by the sea : a narrative of the year at Borth /

Mode of access: Internet.

Annual report of services for fiscal year...

Title from cover.