"Leave me" or "Help me" - Are Parent Behaviors Associated with Child Boldness in Shy Toddlers?
Poster Number
17A
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Jessica Grady
Faculty Mentor Department
Psychology
Graduate Student Mentor Name
Delaney Callan
Graduate Student Mentor Department
Psychology
Abstract/Artist Statement
Shyness refers to a state of wariness and anxiety in response to novel social situations. Shy children often cope with their wariness and anxiety by withdrawing from, rather than engaging in, social settings. However, social engagement is thought to be an important means of accumulating cultural knowledge, suggesting that children who do not engage in exploration may fail to gain meaningful skills. Previous research has primarily focused on behaviors that restrict shy or inhibited children from exploring novel situations, and comparatively less is known about behaviors that support exploration. Our study examined parent behaviors that might support shy children in adapting to novel social settings.
Fifty-five parents and 21-to 24-month-old toddlers were observed in four laboratory episodes that were designed to introduce children to social novelty (i.e. Stranger Approach, Stranger Working, Clown, and Puppet Show; Buss, 2011). Parental coaxing, modeling, positivity/affection, and warmth/reassurance were coded on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extreme) for each episode. Child boldness was coded on the same 5-point scale during each episode.
Results using preliminary data from 40 shy toddler-parent dyads showed that warmth was negatively correlated with child boldness across all four episodes (βs = -.35 to -.47, all ps < .04). Parental coaxing, modeling, and positivity/affection were not consistently associated with child boldness. These preliminary results suggest that parental warmth may hinder shy children’s exploration in novel social settings. However, given the correlational nature of the data , it is also possible that children's lack of exploration may elicit greater parental warmth in a bi-directional manner. Possible implications for the parenting of shy toddlers will be discussed.
Location
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Start Date
27-4-2018 12:30 PM
End Date
27-4-2018 2:30 PM
"Leave me" or "Help me" - Are Parent Behaviors Associated with Child Boldness in Shy Toddlers?
DeRosa University Center Ballroom
Shyness refers to a state of wariness and anxiety in response to novel social situations. Shy children often cope with their wariness and anxiety by withdrawing from, rather than engaging in, social settings. However, social engagement is thought to be an important means of accumulating cultural knowledge, suggesting that children who do not engage in exploration may fail to gain meaningful skills. Previous research has primarily focused on behaviors that restrict shy or inhibited children from exploring novel situations, and comparatively less is known about behaviors that support exploration. Our study examined parent behaviors that might support shy children in adapting to novel social settings.
Fifty-five parents and 21-to 24-month-old toddlers were observed in four laboratory episodes that were designed to introduce children to social novelty (i.e. Stranger Approach, Stranger Working, Clown, and Puppet Show; Buss, 2011). Parental coaxing, modeling, positivity/affection, and warmth/reassurance were coded on a 5-point scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (extreme) for each episode. Child boldness was coded on the same 5-point scale during each episode.
Results using preliminary data from 40 shy toddler-parent dyads showed that warmth was negatively correlated with child boldness across all four episodes (βs = -.35 to -.47, all ps < .04). Parental coaxing, modeling, and positivity/affection were not consistently associated with child boldness. These preliminary results suggest that parental warmth may hinder shy children’s exploration in novel social settings. However, given the correlational nature of the data , it is also possible that children's lack of exploration may elicit greater parental warmth in a bi-directional manner. Possible implications for the parenting of shy toddlers will be discussed.