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Paul W C Wong - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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harnessing Social media to explore youth Social Withdrawal in three major cities in china cross sectional web survey
JMIR mental health, 2018Co-Authors: Lucia Lin Liu, Alan R. Teo, Takahiro A Kato, Paul W C WongAbstract:Background: Socially withdrawn youth belong to an emerging subgroup of youth who are not in employment, education, or training and who have limited Social interaction intention and opportunities. The use of the internet and Social media is expected to be an alternative and feasible way to reach this group of young people because of their reclusive nature. Objective: The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using various Social media platforms to investigate the existence of the phenomenon of youth Social Withdrawal in 3 major cities in China. Methods: A cross-sectional open Web survey was conducted from October 2015 to May 2016 to identify and reach Socially withdrawn youth in 3 metropolitan cities in China: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. To advertise the survey, 3 Social media platforms were used: Weibo, WeChat, and Wandianba, a Social networking gaming website. Results: In total, 137 participants completed the survey, among whom 13 (9.5%) were identified as belonging to the Withdrawal group, 7 (5.1%) to the aSocial group, and 9 (6.6%) to the hikikomori group (both withdrawn and aSocial for more than 3 months). The cost of recruitment via Weibo was US $7.27 per participant. Conclusions: Several Social media platforms in China are viable and inexpensive tools to reach Socially withdrawn youth, and internet platforms that specialize in a certain culture or type of entertainment appeared to be more effective in reaching Socially withdrawn youth.
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editorial perspective pathological Social Withdrawal during adolescence a culture specific or a global phenomenon
Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2015Co-Authors: Paul W C WongAbstract:Impairing patterns of long-term adolescent Social Withdrawal and self-exclusion, including nonattendance at school or work, and minimal Social contact, have been identified as a significant clinical and Social problem in Japan since the late 1990s, where it is termed hikikomori. As well clinical impairment for the withdrawn youths and burden for the families, hikikomori has brought societal and health service costs in Japan. Since its first identification, similar cases have been reported in other countries. Socially withdrawn youths, unfortunately, are difficult to identify and their risks can be 'invisible' because of their withdrawn nature and the traditional perspective of what is perceived as at-risk youth. Understanding of the issue including its causes, risks, and outcomes is very limited. In this editorial perspective, we highlight how youth Social Withdrawal is becoming a clinical and Social concern in some parts of the world and respond to the lack of research on this issue by synthesizing some of the basic research findings, and suggesting future directions for research and practice relating to this emerging youth phenomenon in middle-and-high-income countries in the hope of bringing more attention to this issue.
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the prevalence and correlates of severe Social Withdrawal hikikomori in hong kong a cross sectional telephone based survey study
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2015Co-Authors: Paul W C Wong, Melissa Chan, Yikwa Law, Michael Chau, Cecilia Cheng, John Baconshone, Paul S F YipAbstract:Background:Severe Social Withdrawal behaviors among young people have been a subject of public and clinical concerns.Aims:This study aimed to explore the prevalence of Social Withdrawal behaviors a...
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the prevalence and correlates of severe Social Withdrawal hikikomori in hong kong a cross sectional telephone based survey study
International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 2015Co-Authors: Paul W C Wong, Melissa Chan, Yikwa Law, Michael Chau, Cecilia Cheng, John Baconshone, Paul S F YipAbstract:Background:Severe Social Withdrawal behaviors among young people have been a subject of public and clinical concerns.Aims:This study aimed to explore the prevalence of Social Withdrawal behaviors among young people aged 12–29 years in Hong Kong.Methods:A cross-sectional telephone-based survey was conducted with 1,010 young individuals. Social Withdrawal behaviors were measured with the proposed research diagnostic criteria for hikikomori and were categorized according to the (a) international proposed duration criterion (more than 6 months), (b) local proposed criterion (less than 6 months) and (c) with Withdrawal behaviors but self-perceived as non-problematic. The correlates of Social Withdrawal among the three groups were examined using multinomial and ordinal logistic regression analyses.Results:The prevalence rates of more than 6 months, less than 6 months and self-perceived non-problematic Social Withdrawal were 1.9%, 2.5% and 2.6%, respectively. In terms of the correlates, the internationally and l...
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youth Social Withdrawal behavior hikikomori a systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 2015Co-Authors: Paul W C WongAbstract:Objective:Acute and/or severe Social Withdrawal behavior among youth was seen as a culture-bound psychiatric syndrome in Japan, but more youth Social Withdrawal cases in different countries have been discovered recently. However, due to the lack of a formal definition and diagnostic tool for youth Social Withdrawal, cross-cultural observational and intervention studies are limited. We aimed to consolidate existing knowledge in order to understand youth Social Withdrawal from diverse perspectives and suggest different interventions for different trajectories of youth Social Withdrawal.Method:This review examined the current available scientific information on youth Social Withdrawal in the academic databases: ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and PubMed. We included quantitative and qualitative studies of Socially withdrawn youths published in English and academic peer-reviewed journals.Results:We synthesized the information into the following categories: (1) definitions of youth Social Withdrawal, (...
Robert J. Coplan - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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assessment and implications of Social Withdrawal in early childhood a first look at Social avoidance
Social Development, 2018Co-Authors: Robert J. Coplan, Laura L Ooi, Bowen Xiao, Linda RosekrasnorAbstract:The goals of the present research were to: (a) develop and provide preliminary validation of a parent-rated measure of Social avoidance in early childhood; and (b) to evaluate a conceptual model of the direct and indirect links among young children's Social Withdrawal (shyness, unsociability, Social avoidance), peer problems, and indices of internalizing problems (Social anxiety, depression). Participants were N = 564 children (272 boys, 292 girls; Mage = 67.29 mos, SD = 11.70) attending kindergarten and Grade 1 classes in public schools in southeastern Ontario, Canada. A new subscale assessing Social avoidance was added to an existing parent-rated measure of children's Social Withdrawal. Indices of children's socioemotional functioning were provided by parents and teachers. Among the results, the revised measure of multiple forms of Social Withdrawal demonstrated good psychometric properties, moderate stability 16 months later, and evidence of validity. Shyness, unsociability, and Social avoidance also displayed differential patterns of associations with indices of children's socioemotional functioning. Results are discussed in terms of the assessment and implications of different forms of Social Withdrawal in early childhood.
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a person oriented analysis of Social Withdrawal in chinese children
Social Development, 2016Co-Authors: Robert J. Coplan, Laura L Ooi, Xinyin Chen, Junsheng Liu, Xuechen DingAbstract:The goal of this study was to compare the socio-emotional and academic adjustment of different subtypes of Socially withdrawn (shy, unsociable, avoidant) school-age children in mainland China. Participants were N = 1344 children ages 10–12 years from public elementary schools in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Multi-source assessment included: child self-reports of Social Withdrawal subtypes and internalizing difficulties (e.g., depression, Social anxiety); peer nominations of children's peer relations (e.g., peer victimization, peer preference); and teacher ratings of children's school adjustment (e.g., academic success, internalizing problems). Results from person-oriented analyses indicated that Socially avoidant (i.e., shy-unsociable) children reported the most pervasive internalizing difficulties compared to other groups. However, in contrast to findings among Western samples, unsociable children were as likely to have peer and academic difficulties as their shy and Socially avoidant peers. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different subtypes of Social Withdrawal among children in collectivistic societies such as China.
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young chinese children s beliefs about the implications of subtypes of Social Withdrawal a first look at Social avoidance
British Journal of Development Psychology, 2015Co-Authors: Xuechen Ding, Robert J. Coplan, Junsheng Liu, Biao Sang, Tingting Pan, Chen ChengAbstract:The goal of this study was to examine young Chinese children's beliefs about the implications of different subtypes of Social Withdrawal (e.g., shyness, unsociability), including for the first time, Social avoidance. Participants were 133 children in kindergarten (n = 58, Mage = 70.85 months) and grade 1 (n = 75, Mage = 83.49 months). Children were presented with vignettes describing hypothetical peers displaying shy, unsociable, avoidant, and Socially competent behaviours and were then asked a series of questions to assess their beliefs about the implications of these different behaviours. Young children made distinctions between Social Withdrawal subtypes in terms of underlying motivations and emotions. Children also appeared to hold differential beliefs about the implications of different forms of Social Withdrawal: Of note, they anticipated that Socially avoidant peers would experience the most negative outcomes. These findings provide some of the first evidence to suggest that Social avoidance represents a distinct form of Social Withdrawal among young Chinese children. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of distinguishing between different subtypes of Social Withdrawal in Chinese culture.
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conceptualization and assessment of multiple forms of Social Withdrawal in turkey
Social Development, 2015Co-Authors: Sevgi Bayram Ozdemir, Charissa S L Cheah, Robert J. CoplanAbstract:We examined the meaning, assessment, and implications of different forms of Social Withdrawal in Turkey across two studies. In study 1, semi-structured interviews were conducted with children, mothers, and teachers to identify descriptors of Social Withdrawal. Shyness and unsociability were confirmed through content analyses, and regulated Withdrawal, a new subtype characterized by overregulation of behaviors and suppression of own desires during Social interactions, was revealed. Based on these findings, the child Social preference scale, an established North American measure of Social Withdrawal, was revised. In study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis on a sample of 599 9–11-year-old children revealed three distinct forms of Social Withdrawal. Shyness was related to a wider range of child adjustment difficulties than unsociability and regulated Withdrawal, although all forms of Withdrawal were associated with child adjustment difficulties, providing support for the importance of children's active involvement in Social relationships for their positive development and well-being.
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alone is a crowd Social motivations Social Withdrawal and socioemotional functioning in later childhood
Developmental Psychology, 2013Co-Authors: Robert J. Coplan, Linda Rosekrasnor, Murray Weeks, Adam Kingsbury, Mila Kingsbury, Amanda BullockAbstract:The primary goals of this study were to test a conceptual model linking Social approach and avoidance motivations, Socially withdrawn behaviors, and peer difficulties in later childhood and to compare the socioemotional functioning of different subtypes of withdrawn children (shy, unsociable, avoidant). Participants were 367 children, aged 9–12 years. Measures included assessments of Social motivations (i.e., self-reported shyness and preference for solitude) and Social Withdrawal (observations of solitary behaviors in the schoolyard and self-reports of solitary activities outside of school), as well as self- and parent-reported peer difficulties and internalizing problems. Among the results, both shyness and preference for solitude were associated with Socially withdrawn behaviors, which in turn predicted peer difficulties. However, only shyness (but not preference for solitude) also displayed a direct path to peer difficulties. As well, results from person-oriented analyses indicated that different subtypes of Socially withdrawn children displayed decidedly different profiles with regard to indices of internalizing problems. For example, whereas unsociable children did not differ from their nonwithdrawn peers on indices of internalizing problems, Socially avoidant (i.e., high in both shyness and unsociability) children reported the most pervasive socioemotional difficulties. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of different forms of Social Withdrawal for socioemotional functioning in later childhood.
Kenneth H Rubin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social Withdrawal and Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: Interaction between Individual Tendencies and Interpersonal Learning Mechanisms in Development
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2019Co-Authors: Heidi Gazelle, Kenneth H RubinAbstract:In this introduction to the special issue on Social Withdrawal and Anxiety in Childhood and Adolescence: Interaction Between Individual Tendencies and Interpersonal Learning Mechanisms in Development , we analyze conceptual models guiding the twelve studies featured herein. Findings from multiple investigations support Diathesis – Stress Models which emphasize the role of parent- or peer-related interpersonal stress in strengthening affective-behavioral or biological vulnerabilities (diatheses) to anxious solitude or Social anxiety. Other investigations support only child vulnerability effects, consistent with a Diathesis-only Model , but such effects are often framed as potentially part of broader Diathesis-Stress or Child by Environment Transactional Models . Next we discuss novelty in development as defined as directional change in the progression of affective-behavioral patterns over time. Novelty in development is postulated in: 1) a Chronic Stress Model that proposes that interpersonal stress can generate or maintain Social Withdrawal and anxiety; 2) Stress Generation and Transactional Models that propose that child vulnerability can evoke interpersonal stress; and 3) an Ecological Transition Model that proposes that ecological transitions can serve as turning points prompting reorganization in the child-environment system which can result in the deflection of previous patterns of adjustment onto alternate trajectories. We also highlight additional themes from the set of studies found herein. These themes include the significance of gender and culture vis-à-vis the development of Social Withdrawal and anxiety. Other themes include motivations for Social Withdrawal; the influence of peer predictability on Social Withdrawal and brain function; and how the study of multiple developmental pathways has been supported by contemporary analytic techniques.
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Neuroticism and Conscientiousness as Moderators of the Relation Between Social Withdrawal and Internalizing Problems in Adolescence
Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2017Co-Authors: Kelly A. Smith, Matthew G. Barstead, Kenneth H RubinAbstract:Social Withdrawal, or refraining from Social interaction in the presence of peers, places adolescents at risk of developing emotional problems like anxiety and depression. The personality traits of neuroticism and conscientiousness also relate to emotional difficulties. For example, high conscientiousness predicts lower incidence of anxiety disorders and depression, while high neuroticism relates to greater likelihood of these problems. Based on these associations, Socially withdrawn adolescents high in conscientiousness or low in neuroticism were expected to have lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Participants included 103 adolescents (59 % female) who reported on their personality traits in 8th grade and their anxiety and depressive symptoms in 9th grade. Peer ratings of Social Withdrawal were collected within schools in 8th grade. A structural equation model revealed that 8th grade Withdrawal positively predicted 9th grade anxiety and depressive symptoms controlling for 8th grade anxiety and depressive symptoms, but neuroticism did not. Conscientiousness moderated the relation of Withdrawal with depressive symptoms but not anxiety, such that high levels of conscientiousness attenuated the association between Withdrawal and depressive symptoms. This buffering effect may stem from the conceptual relation between conscientiousness and self-regulation. Conscientiousness did not, however, moderate the association between Withdrawal and anxiety, which may be partly due to the role anxiety plays in driving Withdrawal. Thus, a conscientious, well-regulated personality partially protects withdrawn adolescents from the increased risk of emotional difficulties.
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the development of shyness and Social Withdrawal
Guilford Publications, 2010Co-Authors: Kenneth H Rubin, Robert J. CoplanAbstract:Part 1. Introduction. R. J. Coplan, K. H. Rubin, Social Withdrawal and Shyness in Childhood: History, Theories, Definitions, and Assessments. Part 2. Constructs and Conceptual Approaches. L. A. Schmidt A. H. Buss, Understanding Shyness: Four Questions and Four Decades of Research. W. R. Crozier, Shyness and the Development of Embarrassment and the Self-conscious Emotions. R. J. Coplan, M. Weeks, Unsociability and the Preference for Solitude in Childhood. N. A. Fox, B. C. Reeb-Sutherland, Biological Moderators of Infant Temperament and its Relation to Social Withdrawal. Part 3. Personal and Interpersonal Processes. P. D. Hastings, J. N. Nuselovici, K. H. Rubin, C. S. L. Cheah, Shyness, Parenting, and Parent-child Relationships. K. H. Rubin, J. Bowker, H. Gazelle, Social Withdrawal in Childhood and Adolescence: Peer Relationships and Social Competence. J. B. Asendorpf, Long-Term Development of Shyness: Looking Forward and Looking Backward. Part 4. Contexts. M. Ann Evans, Language Performance, Academic Performance, and Signs of Shyness: A Comprehensive Review. X. Chen, Shyness-inhibition in Childhood and Adolescence: A Cross-cultural Perspective. B. H. Schneider, Y. Amichai-Hamburger, Electronic Communication: Escape Mechanism or Relationship-building Tool for Shy, Withdrawn Children and Adolescents? R. J. Coplan, K. Hughes, H. C. Rowsell, "Once Upon a Time There Were a Blushful Hippo and a Meek Mouse": A Content Analysis of Shy Characters in Young Children's Storybooks. Part 5. Clinical Research, Practice, and Treatment. R. M. Rapee, Temperament and the Etiology of Social Phobia. M. P. Mychailyszyn, J. S. Cohen, J. M. Edmunds, S. A. Crawley, P. C. Kendall, Treating Social Anxiety in Youth.
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Social Withdrawal in Childhood
Annual Review of Psychology, 2009Co-Authors: Kenneth H Rubin, Robert J. Coplan, Julie C. BowkerAbstract:Socially withdrawn children frequently refrain from Social activities in the presence of peers. The lack of Social interaction in childhood may result from a variety of causes, including Social fear and anxiety or a preference for solitude. From early childhood through to adolescence, Socially withdrawn children are concurrently and predictively at risk for a wide range of negative adjustment outcomes, including socio-emotional difficulties (e.g., anxiety, low self-esteem, depressive symptoms, and internalizing problems), peer difficulties (e.g., rejection, victimization, poor friendship quality), and school difficulties (e.g., poor-quality teacher-child relationships, academic difficulties, school avoidance). The goals of the current review are to (a) provide some definitional, theoretical, and methodological clarity to the complex array of terms and constructs previously employed in the study of Social Withdrawal; (b) examine the predictors, correlates, and consequences of child and early-adolescent soc...
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the role of maternal behavior in the relation between shyness and Social reticence in early childhood and Social Withdrawal in middle childhood
Social Development, 2008Co-Authors: Amie Ashley Hane, Charissa S L Cheah, Kenneth H RubinAbstract:The moderating effect of maternal behavior in the relations between Social reticence and shyness in preschool and subsequent Social Withdrawal was investigated. Eighty children (47 females) were judged for degree of Social reticence during play with unfamiliar peers at age four and mothers completed the Colorado child temperament inventory (CCTI). At age seven, the children were coded for degree of Social Withdrawal during peer play and mothers and children were observed during structured and unstructured activities. Two significant interaction effects indicated that maternal report of shyness was a positive predictor of age-seven Social Withdrawal when mothers lacked positivity; whereas observed Social reticence was associated with higher degrees of Social Withdrawal when mothers were highly negative. Maternal positivity and negativity differentially influenced the development of Social Withdrawal in childhood, such that maternal negativity is associated with poor Social functioning in children who have an established history of Social Withdrawal; whereas maternal positivity is associated with better Social outcome for preschoolers who are viewed as temperamentally shy.
Nathan A Fox - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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attention biases to threat link behavioral inhibition to Social Withdrawal over time in very young children
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2011Co-Authors: Koraly Perezedgar, Jennifer Martin Mcdermott, Daniel S Pine, Bethany C Reebsutherland, Lauren K White, Heather A Henderson, Kathryn A Degnan, Amie Ashley Hane, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Behaviorally inhibited children display a temper- amental profile characterized by Social Withdrawal and anxious behaviors. Previous research, focused largely on adolescents, suggests that attention biases to threat may sustain high levels of behavioral inhibition (BI) over time, helping link early temperament to Social outcomes. How- ever, no prior studies examine the association between attention bias and BI before adolescence. The current study examined the interrelations among BI, attention biases to threat, and Social Withdrawal already manifest in early childhood. Children (N=187, 83 Male, Mage=61.96 months) were characterized for BI in toddlerhood (24 & 36 months). At 5 years, they completed an attention bias task and concurrent Social Withdrawal was measured. As expected, BI in toddlerhood predicted high levels of Social Withdrawal in early childhood. However, this relation was moderated by attention bias. The BI-Withdrawal association was only evident for children who displayed an attention bias toward threat.Thedataprovidefurther support formodelsassociating attention with socioemotional development and the later emergence of clinical anxiety.
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attention biases to threat and behavioral inhibition in early childhood shape adolescent Social Withdrawal
Emotion, 2010Co-Authors: Koraly Perezedgar, Yair Barhaim, Jennifer Martin Mcdermott, Andrea Chronistuscano, Daniel S Pine, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament characterized in young children by a heightened sensitivity to novelty, Social Withdrawal, and anxious behaviors. For many children, these Social difficulties dissipate over time. For others, patterns of Social Withdrawal continue into adolescence. Over time, attention biases to threat may influence the stability of BI and its association with Social Withdrawal, ultimately modulating the risk for anxiety disorders in BI children. However, we know relatively little about the cognitive processes that accompany BI and shape later socio-emotional functioning. We examined the relations among BI in childhood, attention biases to threat in adolescence, and adolescent Social Withdrawal in a longitudinal study (N = 126, Mean age = 15 years). As has been reported in anxious adults, adolescents who were behaviorally inhibited as toddlers and young children showed heightened attention bias to threat. In addition, attention bias to threat moderated the relation between childhood BI and adolescent Social Withdrawal.
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Social Withdrawal observed peer acceptance and the development of self perceptions in children ages 4 to 7 years
Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 2005Co-Authors: Larry J Nelson, Kenneth H Rubin, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Abstract Children who think poorly about themselves are considered at-risk for a myriad of negative outcomes. Thus, it is important to explore possible origins of such cognitions, particularly in young children. The purpose of this study was to examine the relations between various nonSocial behaviors (i.e., reticence and Social Withdrawal), observed peer acceptance at ages 4 and 7 years, and self-perceptions at age 7 years in both boys and girls, respectively. Participants included 163 children (89 females, 74 males) who were seen at age 4 and then again at age 7 years. For girls, results revealed that nonSocial behavior (both reticence and solitary-passive Withdrawal) was negatively related to observed peer acceptance at both ages 4 and 7, and peer acceptance, as early as 4 years of age, was found to influence self-perceptions of competence at age 7 years. For boys, results revealed that (a) reticence at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance, perceived physical and perceived cognitive competence at age 7 years, (b) solitary-passive Withdrawal at age 4 predicted positive cognitive self-perceptions at age 7, and (c) solitary-passive Withdrawal at age 7 predicted negatively to perceived peer acceptance and perceived physical competence at age 7 years.
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self regulatory processes in early personality development a multilevel approach to the study of childhood Social Withdrawal and aggression
Development and Psychopathology, 2002Co-Authors: Susan D Calkins, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Self-regulatory processes are believed to be critical to early personality and behavioral adjustment. Such processes can be observed on multiple levels, including the physiological, attentional, emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal domains of functioning. Data from several longitudinal studies suggest links between early temperamental tendencies such as behavioral inhibition and frustration tolerance, and regulatory developments at the levels of physiological, attentional, and emotional regulation. Deficits in these particular levels of self-regulation may underlie childhood Social Withdrawal and aggression. Significant gaps remain in our knowledge of the pathways to disordered behavior and the role that self-regulation plays in such pathways. Suggestions are made for the ways in which future longitudinal studies might address these gaps.
Koraly Perezedgar - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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impact of attention biases to threat and effortful control on individual variations in negative affect and Social Withdrawal in very young children
Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2016Co-Authors: Claire Cole, Daniel J Zapp, Nicole B Fettig, Koraly PerezedgarAbstract:Early temperamental sensitivity may form the basis for the later development of socioemotional maladjustment. In particular, temperamental negative affect places children at risk for the development of anxiety. However, not all children who show negative affect go on to develop anxiety or extreme Social Withdrawal. Recent research indicates that reactive control, in the form of attention to threat, may serve as a bridge between early temperament and the development of later Social difficulties. In addition, variation in effortful control may also modulate this trajectory. Children (mean age=5.57 years) were assessed for attention bias to threatening and pleasant faces using a dot-probe paradigm. Attention bias to threatening (but not happy) faces moderated the direct positive relation between negative affect and Social Withdrawal. Children with threat biases showed a significant link between negative affect and Social Withdrawal, whereas children who avoided threat did not. In contrast, effortful control did not moderate the relation between negative affect and Social Withdrawal. Rather, there was a direct negative relation between effortful control and Social Withdrawal. The findings from this short report indicate that the relations among temperament, attention bias, and Social Withdrawal appears early in life and point to early emerging specificity in reactive and regulatory functioning.
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attention biases towards and away from threat mark the relation between early dysregulated fear and the later emergence of Social Withdrawal
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2015Co-Authors: Santiago Morales, Koraly Perezedgar, Kristin A. BussAbstract:Fearful temperament, mostly studied as behavioral inhibition (BI), has been extensively associated with Social Withdrawal in childhood and the later emergence of anxiety disorders, especially Social anxiety disorder (SAD). Recent studies have characterized a distinct type of fearful temperament marked by high levels of fear in low threat situations – labeled dysregulated fear. Dysregulated fear has been related to SAD over and above risks associated with BI. However, the mechanism by which dysregulated fear is related to SAD has not been studied. Cognitive mechanisms, such as attentional bias towards threat, may be a possible conduit. We examined differences in attentional bias towards threat in six-year-olds who displayed a pattern of dysregulated fear at age two (N = 23) compared with children who did not display dysregulated fear (N = 33). Moreover, we examined the concurrent relation between attentional bias and Social Withdrawal. Results indicated that children characterized by dysregulated fear showed a significant bias away from threat, and that this bias was significantly different from the children without dysregulated fear, who showed no significant bias. Moreover, attentional bias towards threat was positively related to Social Withdrawal only for the dysregulated fear group. These results are discussed in consideration of the existing knowledge of attentional bias to threat in the developmental and pediatric anxiety literatures, as well as recent studies that find important heterogeneity in attentional bias.
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attention biases to threat link behavioral inhibition to Social Withdrawal over time in very young children
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 2011Co-Authors: Koraly Perezedgar, Jennifer Martin Mcdermott, Daniel S Pine, Bethany C Reebsutherland, Lauren K White, Heather A Henderson, Kathryn A Degnan, Amie Ashley Hane, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Behaviorally inhibited children display a temper- amental profile characterized by Social Withdrawal and anxious behaviors. Previous research, focused largely on adolescents, suggests that attention biases to threat may sustain high levels of behavioral inhibition (BI) over time, helping link early temperament to Social outcomes. How- ever, no prior studies examine the association between attention bias and BI before adolescence. The current study examined the interrelations among BI, attention biases to threat, and Social Withdrawal already manifest in early childhood. Children (N=187, 83 Male, Mage=61.96 months) were characterized for BI in toddlerhood (24 & 36 months). At 5 years, they completed an attention bias task and concurrent Social Withdrawal was measured. As expected, BI in toddlerhood predicted high levels of Social Withdrawal in early childhood. However, this relation was moderated by attention bias. The BI-Withdrawal association was only evident for children who displayed an attention bias toward threat.Thedataprovidefurther support formodelsassociating attention with socioemotional development and the later emergence of clinical anxiety.
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attention biases to threat and behavioral inhibition in early childhood shape adolescent Social Withdrawal
Emotion, 2010Co-Authors: Koraly Perezedgar, Yair Barhaim, Jennifer Martin Mcdermott, Andrea Chronistuscano, Daniel S Pine, Nathan A FoxAbstract:Behavioral inhibition (BI) is a temperament characterized in young children by a heightened sensitivity to novelty, Social Withdrawal, and anxious behaviors. For many children, these Social difficulties dissipate over time. For others, patterns of Social Withdrawal continue into adolescence. Over time, attention biases to threat may influence the stability of BI and its association with Social Withdrawal, ultimately modulating the risk for anxiety disorders in BI children. However, we know relatively little about the cognitive processes that accompany BI and shape later socio-emotional functioning. We examined the relations among BI in childhood, attention biases to threat in adolescence, and adolescent Social Withdrawal in a longitudinal study (N = 126, Mean age = 15 years). As has been reported in anxious adults, adolescents who were behaviorally inhibited as toddlers and young children showed heightened attention bias to threat. In addition, attention bias to threat moderated the relation between childhood BI and adolescent Social Withdrawal.
