Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Shyness”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The relationship between child temperament and early childhood caries.

PURPOSE: Among the potential risk factors associated with nursing caries/baby bottle tooth decay--a subset of Early Childhood Caries (ECC)--is a "strong-tempered" behavioral style in the child. However, the few empirical studies that have investigated this description remain controversial. The research goal of this study was to operationalize the "strong-tempered" profile and investigate its association to parental feeding practices and ECC levels. METHODS: In an observational-correlational study design, 58 children (ASA I), ages 18 to 70 months (M = 43 months, SD = 17), were reliably assessed for ECC levels by a clinical evaluator. A second evaluator, blind to ECC status, interviewed parents using a demographic survey, a feeding practices measure, and the EAS Temperament Survey for Children. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses indicated that none of the four temperament factors (Emotionality, Activity, Sociability, and Shyness) significantly predicted duration of feeding habit defined as the length of time in months that the child breast or bottle fed, whichever lasted the longest. However, the combination of greater duration of feeding habit and higher levels of Shyness predicted all three measures of ECC: the presence or absence of caries (r2 = .19, P < .001), the number of carious teeth (r2 = .23, P < .001) and the number of carious surfaces (r2 = .21, P < .001). Furthermore, the addition of Native status significantly increased the predictive value of all of three models (r2 = .37, r2 = .43, r2 = .29, respectively, Ps < .0001). CONCLUSION: Temperament did not predict the duration of feeding habit but together, shyness and duration of feeding habit was associated with ECC.

Bottle Feeding↗
PubMed2002

Double dissociation between implicit and explicit personality self-concept: the case of shy behavior.

Using the trait of shyness as an example, the authors showed that (a) it is possible to reliably assess individual differences in the implicitly measured self-concept of personality that (b) are not accessible through traditional explicit self-ratings and (c) increase significantly the prediction of spontaneous behavior in realistic social situations. A total of 139 participants were observed in a shyness-inducing laboratory situation, and they completed an Implicit Association Test (IAT) and explicit self-ratings of shyness. The IAT correlated moderately with the explicit self-ratings and uniquely predicted spontaneous (but not controlled) shy behavior, whereas the explicit ratings uniquely predicted controlled (but not spontaneous) shy behavior (double dissociation). The distinction between spontaneous and controlled behavior was validated in a 2nd study.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Firesetting in adolescence and being aggressive, shy, and rejected by peers: new epidemiologic evidence from a national sample survey.

This population-based case control study examined the hypothesis that the occurrence of firesetting might be greater in youths who exhibit a combination of shyness and aggressiveness and may be complicated by peer rejection. The study's self-report data were from a nationally representative sample survey conducted in 1995. There were 284 cases involving 12- to 17-year-old youths who self-reported recent firesetting, regardless of their intentions. Control subjects were 4,207 youths with no such history. After subjects were matched according to age and neighborhood, conditional logistic regressions were used for estimation. Moderate to strong associations were observed between firesetting and both shyness and aggressiveness (odds ratio [OR] = 6.6; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.2-20.4) and feeling highly rejected by peers (OR = 14.5, 95% CI = 3.5-59.6). Independently, boys were 3.8 times more likely to be firesetters (p = .001). Although this cross-sectional study revealed associations of firesetting with shyness and aggressiveness, with evidence of a possibly separate influence of peer rejection, correlation should not be construed as causation. More longitudinal research is needed to clarify temporal sequencing of these characteristics. Prevention trials may indicate whether firesetting can be reduced by amelioration of socially maladaptive behavior and peer rejection as manifested in the child and teenage years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Temperamental factors in children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and in normal controls.

We studied parent-rated temperamental traits in patients (n=83) with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as compared with children and adolescents matched for age and gender (n=85) using the EAS (Emotionality, Activity, Sociability) questionnaire. Specifically, two hypotheses of OCD were studied: (1) the presence of behavioural inhibition (BI) and (2) of high levels of emotionality utilising ANOVA analyses, controlling for gender and age group (children vs. adolescents). The presence of BI in OCD patients was confirmed in that they scored higher than controls on 'Shyness' [F (df=7)=2.69, p<0.012] but lower on 'Activity' [F (df=7)=3.01, p<0.005]. Also, our second hypothesis was corroborated in that OCD patients scored higher than controls on 'Emotionality' [F (df=7)=3.59, p<0.001]. A third hypothesis, the presence of temperamental heterogeneity in OCD, was likewise confirmed. We found, using hierarchical cluster analyses, two subgroups of about equal size, an 'Inhibited/Shy' group (n=44), high in 'Shyness' and low in 'Emotionality', 'Sociability' and 'Activity', and an 'Uninhibited' group (n=32) that was high in 'Emotionality', 'Sociability' and 'Activity', but low in 'Shyness'. However, the temperamental subgroups gave no clear picture with regard to the most common symptom patterns.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social and psychological characteristics of elderly visually handicapped patients with the Charles Bonnet Syndrome.

The Charles Bonnet syndrome (CBS) is characterized by the presence of complex visual hallucinations in psychologically normal people. The syndrome occurs predominantly in the visually handicapped elderly. Little is known about its etiology and pathogenesis. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of CBS with psychological and social determinants. All subjects were patients older than 64 years from a low-vision unit. Using a case-control approach, 50 patients with CBS and 80 patients without visual hallucinations were interviewed about their educational level, social circumstances, number of social contacts, and ability to cope with visual handicap. Loneliness was measured with the De Jong-Gierveld-Kamphuis loneliness scale, and personality traits were examined with the Dutch-language short version of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory ([MMPI] Nederlandse Verkorte MMPI [NVM]). Compared with the control group, significantly more CBS patients were lonely. Mean scores on the NVM shyness scale and extraversion scale were significantly higher and lower, respectively, in CBS patients. In multiple logistic regression analysis for the three determinants simultaneously, loneliness and low extraversion were significant predictors for CBS, but shyness was not. It is concluded that loneliness, low extraversion, and shyness are risk indicators for CBS in elderly visually handicapped people. The findings suggest that CBS is associated with a low quality of social contacts.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1995

Social phobia: an analysis of possible developmental factors.

Sixty-eight individuals with specific or generalized social phobia and 25 normal controls were assessed for presence of a family history of anxiety, childhood shyness, traumatic conditioning experiences, neuroticism, and extraversion. Subtype differences emerged, including significantly greater neuroticism and a more frequent history of shyness in the generalized subtype. Those with the generalized subtype also had significantly lower extraversion scores, and those with the specific subtype had a significantly higher frequency of traumatic conditioning episodes. Together, traumatic conditioning and childhood shyness predicted the presence of social phobia, although other unidentified factors also appeared to be relevant. The results are discussed in terms of potentially different modes of onset for the subtypes of social phobia and the role of neuroticism and introversion in the development of the disorder.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relations of regulation and negative emotionality to Indonesian children's social functioning.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of individual differences in regulation and negative emotionality to 127 third-grade Indonesian children's social skills/low externalizing problem behavior, sociometric status, and shyness. Parents and multiple teachers provided information on children's regulation, negative emotionality, and social functioning; peer sociometric information on liking and social behavior was obtained; and children reported on their self-regulation. In general, children's low socially appropriate behavior/ high problem behavior and rejected peer status were related to low dispositional regulation and high negative emotionality (intense emotions and anger), and regulation and negative emotionality (especially teacher rated) sometimes accounted for unique (additive) variance in children's social functioning. Adult-reported shyness was related to low peer nominations of disliked/fights (although shy children were not especially liked), low adult-reported regulation, and (to a lesser degree) low teacher-rated negative emotionality. Findings are compared with work on regulation, negative emotionality, social competence, and shyness in other countries.

Affect↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Social functioning and adjustment in Chinese children: the imprint of historical time.

This study examined, in 3 cohorts (1990, 1998, and 2002) of elementary school children (M age=10 years), relations between social functioning and adjustment in different phases of the societal transition in China. Data were obtained from multiple sources. The results indicate that sociability-cooperation was associated with peer acceptance and teacher-rated competence, whereas aggression was associated with social and school difficulties in all 3 cohorts. The effect of different social contexts was reflected mainly in the relations between shyness-sensitivity and adjustment. Whereas shyness was associated with social and academic achievement in the 1990 cohort, the associations became weaker or nonsignificant in the 1998 cohort. Furthermore, shyness was associated with peer rejection, school problems, and depression in the 2002 cohort.

Achievement↗
PubMed1994

The factor structure of the Buss and Plomin EAS Temperament Survey (parental ratings) in a Dutch sample of elementary school children.

The psychometric properties of the Buss and Plomin (1984) EAS Temperament Survey for Children (Parental Ratings) were examined in a sample of Dutch children between 4 and 13 years of age. Ratings were obtained from 230 mothers and 172 fathers. The findings presented here provide the lacking cross-validation of the original analyses by Rowe and Plomin (1977): Emotionality, activity, and shyness were independent temperaments, regardless of age and gender. The factorial position of the yet experimental Sociability scale is more ambiguous: Sociability was significantly related to both shyness and activity but was more strongly associated with shyness in the youngest age cohort and most strongly with activity in the oldest cohort. This age trend, combined with a positive association with activity, supports the premise that sociability cannot be equated to nonshyness and justifies the inclusion of a separate Sociability scale in the EAS. All four EAS scales are reliable in terms of internal consistency and interrater agreement, but one modification of the Sociability scale is needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Childhood social arena and cognitive sets in eating disorders.

OBJECTIVE: While there is much evidence to suggest that women with eating disorders experience difficulties in the social domain, little has been done to establish whether such difficulties play a causal role or the extent to which these involve cognitive factors. The purpose of this report is to determine whether difficulties in certain aspects of the childhood social arena are reported as existing prior to developing an eating disorder. METHOD: A sample of 43 women with a history of eating disorders and 20 women with no such history were interviewed retrospectively about their feelings and experiences of loneliness, shyness and inferiority in childhood and adolescence. RESULTS: Women with a history of anorexia nervosa of the binge/purge subtype reported higher levels of loneliness, shyness and feelings of inferiority in adolescence than did women with no history of an eating disorder, and women with a history of bulimia nervosa reported higher levels of shyness. However, this was not true for earlier childhood where such feelings did not differ significantly between groups. This difference could not be accounted for by current depressive disorder, recovery from the eating disorder or level of victimization in adolescence. CONCLUSION: There are a number of differences in the aetiology of subtypes of eating disorder. The present results suggest that cognitive styles pertaining to the social arena in adolescence, and prior to the onset of any eating disorders, may play a causal role in the development of anorexia nervosa of the binge/purge subtype, but not anorexia nervosa of the restricting subtype.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Coping motives as a moderator of daily mood-drinking covariation.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examines the extent to which college students' reports of drinking to cope (DTC) with negative affect moderate the daily covariation between specific types of negative mood (sadness, fear, hostility, shyness and boredom) and alcohol use. METHOD: Participants were full-time college students, aged 18-20, attending a large Southeastern university (N = 72; 50% male). These individuals completed an experience-sampling protocol over a 1-month interval, to assess daily mood and alcohol use. RESULTS: A series of Hierarchical General Linear Models found that individuals who reported low motives to cope through drinking showed an expected absence of daily mood and drinking covariation. For those reporting high coping motives, a complex and somewhat counterintuitive series of findings were found; students high in DTC drank less on days in which they experienced greater sadness. Analyses on the quadratic effects of mood revealed that when experiencing moderate to high levels of fear and shyness, individuals high in DTC were more likely to drink. For those low in coping motivations, fear and shyness did not predict daily drinking. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the need to better our understanding of the exact meaning of DTC measures. In addition, there is a need to study how the context of college drinking influences self-medication and students' self-reports of DTC.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2002

Social adjustment in children with Down mental retardation (MRD) and Fragile-X mental retardation (MRX).

BACKGROUND: Since adjustment abilities became important in mental retardation (MR) diagnosis, it seemed interesting to study social adjustment in persons with MR Down (RMD) and MR Fragile-X (RMX). These two syndromes are the most common causes of MR of chromosomal origin. To evaluate the influence of temperament insofar as behavior and temperament are concerned in social adjustment, we studied temperamental dimensions (emotionality, activity, sociability and shyness) and social functioning (attention problems and withdrawal). METHODS: Our study group was composed of 35 children with MR; 23 with RMD (F=14) age range 4 to 21, and 12 (F=1) with RMX age ranged from 5 to 19. #Social adjustment was evaluated by two scales: EAS and CBCL. RESULTS: The six evaluated dimensions of adjustment functioning (emotionality, activity, sociability, shyness, attention problems and withdrawal) differ in the two MRD and MRX groups. MRX scores are all higher except for sociability; shyness, attention problems and emotionality show a significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: The RMX group is that one may have more difficulty in social adjustment. This is because they are characterized by hyperactivity, withdrawal, low attention, low social function and high emotionality that are all negative symptoms for a social adjustment. In our study group MRD have higher values in the sociability area and they don't show relevant behavioral disorders and they have got more adaptive abilities. We may hypothesize that this attitude is a part of their genetic structure, and also that the best social adjustment of Down persons may be linked to a better interaction with the environment.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Boys' behavioral inhibition and the risk of later delinquency.

BACKGROUND: In some studies, shyness and anxiety have protected at-risk boys from developing delinquency. In others, shyness and withdrawal have increased risk. We argue that this is because behavioral inhibition, which is the protective factor, has been confounded with social withdrawal and other constructs. Our study addresses 3 major questions: (1) is behavioral inhibition, as distinguished from social withdrawal, a protective factor in the development of delinquency; (2) does the protective effect depend on whether disruptiveness is also present; and (3) does inhibition increase the risk of later depressive symptoms even if it protects against delinquency? METHODS: The subjects were boys from low socioeconomic status areas of Montreal, Quebec. Age 10- to 12-year predictors were peer-rated inhibition, withdrawal, and disruptiveness; age 13- to 15-year outcomes were self-rated depressive symptoms and delinquency. Eight age 10- to 12-year behavioral profiles were compared with 4 age 13- to 15-year outcome profiles. RESULTS: Inhibition seemed to protect disruptive and nondisruptive boys against delinquency. Disruptive boys who were noninhibited were more likely than chance to become delinquent; disruptive boys who were inhibited were not. Inhibition did not increase the risk for depression among disruptive boys. Among nondisruptive boys, only nondisruptive-inhibited boys were significantly less likely than chance to become delinquent. However, withdrawal was not protective. Disruptive-withdrawn boys were at the greatest risk for delinquency or delinquency with depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: Inhibition and social withdrawal, although behaviorally similar, present different risks for later outcomes and, therefore, should be differentiated conceptually and empirically.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Do temperamentally shy children process emotion differently than nonshy children? Behavioral, psychophysiological, and gender differences in reticent preschoolers.

We examined regional brain electrical activity (EEG), heart rate, and subjective responses at rest and during the presentation of videoclips designed to elicit a range of emotions (e.g., sadness, anger, happiness, fear) among a sample of healthy 4-year-old children selected for temperamental shyness. We found that shy children exhibited significantly greater relative right central EEG activation at rest and during the presentation of the fear-eliciting videoclip than nonshy children. Shy females displayed greater relative right mid-frontal EEG activation during the sad, happy, and fear videoclips than shy males who displayed greater relative left mid-frontal EEG activation. These results (1) suggest that recent frontal EEG activation/emotion models might be gender-specific and (2) appear to provide the first empirical evidence for recent theoretical notions linking the origins and maintenance of temperamental shyness in children to difficulty in regulating fear responses.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2004

The longitudinal relations of regulation and emotionality to quality of Indonesian children's socioemotional functioning.

Data regarding individual differences in children's regulation, emotionality, quality of socioemotional functioning, and shyness were obtained from teachers and peers for 112 Indonesian 6th graders. Similar data (plus parents' reports) also were collected when these children were in 3rd grade. For boys, regulation and low negative emotionality generally predicted positive socioemotional functioning (e.g., social skills, adjustment, prosocial tendencies and peer liking, sympathy) within and across time and across reporters, even at the follow-up when initial levels of regulation or negative emotionality were controlled. For girls, relations were obtained primarily for concurrent teacher reports, probably because girls tended to be fairly well regulated and socially competent and variability in their scores was relatively low. Shyness for both sexes tended to be associated with concurrent measures of low regulation, high negative emotionality, and low quality of social competence.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Self-reported illness from chemical odors in young adults without clinical syndromes or occupational exposures.

The present survey of young adult college students investigated the prevalence of self-reported illness from the smell of the five following common environmental chemicals (cacosmia): (1) pesticide, (2) automobile exhaust, (3) paint, (4) new carpet, and (5) perfume. Sixty-six percent of 643 students reported feeling ill from one or more of the five chemicals; 15% identified the smell of at least four chemicals as making them ill. Ratings of illness from pesticide correlated weakly but significantly with ratings for the largest number of individual symptoms (9 of 11); daytime tiredness and daytime grogginess both correlated at high levels of significance with illness ratings (on a 5-point scale) for four of the five chemicals. The most cacosmic group (CS) included significantly more women (79%) than the noncacosmic group (NS) (49%); women overall were more cacosmic than men (p < .001), even with the significant covariate of depression. Ratings of cacosmia correlated only weakly with scores for depression (r = 0.16), anxiety (r = 0.08), and trait shyness (r = 0.18) in the total sample. On stepwise multiple regression with cacosmia score as the dependent measure, shyness accounted for 5.8% of the variance, while depression, anxiety, sense of mastery, and repression did not enter the equation. Histories of physician-diagnosed hay fever, but not asthma, were more frequent in the CS (16%) than in the NS group (5%). Without the confounds of chronic illness or specific treatment programs, these data are similar to patterns described clinically for a subset of patients with multiple chemical sensitivities (MCS), including previous data on increased nasal resistance in MCS.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Symptom and personality profiles of young adults from a college student population with self-reported illness from foods and chemicals.

Despite much debate over a presumptively somatic vs psychological etiology of nonatopic food and chemical sensitivities, little systematic research has addressed the issues. The present study investigated self-reported illness from several common foods (wheat, dairy, eggs) and chemicals (pesticide, car exhaust, paint, perfume, new carpet), symptom patterns, and psychological profiles of a sample of young adult college students (n = 490, age 19.4 +/- 2.4, 52% female/48% male). Subjects were divided into 4 groups on the basis of sample medians for frequency of illness from the foods (FI) and chemicals (CI); high FI with high CI (FI/CI), high FI alone, high CI alone, and NOILL (low FI and CI). FI was associated with more defensiveness (denial of negativity) while CI was linked with more shyness (avoidance of novelty). Women outnumbered men in all groups (FI/CI: 61%; FI: 80% CI: 55%) except the NOILL (40% women). Nevertheless, the FI/CI, FI, and/or CI groups still had significantly higher total symptom scores as well as more indigestion, headache, and memory trouble than did the NOILL group, even after depression, anxiety, shyness, defensiveness, and gender were covaried. The illness groups reported significantly more limitation of foods that mobilize endogenous opioids or generate exogenous opioids (sweets, fats, bread) as well as more illness from opiate drugs, small amounts of beverage alcohol, and late meals. Nasal symptoms from pollens or animals were more common in the FI/CI (42%) and CI (42%) than in FI (26%) or NOILL (28%) groups. Premenstrual tension syndrome and irritable bowel were also more common in the FI/CI group. The findings indicate that young adults outside the clinical setting who are relatively higher in FI and/or CI have distinctive symptom and psychological patterns. Covariate analyses suggest that important symptoms in FI and CI individuals such as indigestion, headache, and memory problems may occur in addition to rather than as simply part of emotional distress. The data are consistent with a previously hypothesized role of olfactory-limbic and hypothalamic pathways and with a time-dependent sensitization model for illness from foods and chemicals.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Adolescent pregnancy and loneliness.

The number of adolescent pregnancies in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. Loneliness and adolescent sexuality, however, have not been previously studied. This descriptive study investigated the relationships of characterological and situational loneliness in childbearing adolescents. Related variables of shyness, self-esteem, perceived maternal and paternal expressiveness, and social support also were studied. The data were collected at multiple sites in Northern California using a convenience sample of adolescents ranging in age from 12 to 21 years: early (n = 11), middle (n = 22), and late (n = 24). Results of the analysis of variance and the Tukey-HSD indicated situational variables were more significant than characterological variables in understanding loneliness in early and middle adolescence. The characterological variables were not statistically significant. Using Pearson's correlation coefficient, significant relationships were found among and between variables. The findings suggest parental relationships were powerful in influencing the existence of loneliness as well as self-esteem, shyness, and social support.

Adolescent↗