Shyness and Adjustment in Two Cohorts of Rural Chinese Children

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study examined relations between anxiety‐based shyness and social, school, and psychological adjustment in rural Chinese children at two different historical periods. Participants included two cohorts (2012 and 2022) in middle childhood from Southeast China ( N = 740 and 710, M age = 9.50 and 9.14). Results revealed significant cross‐cohort differences in relations between shyness and adjustment. Specifically, shyness was negatively associated with peer preference and academic achievement and positively associated with internalizing problems (loneliness and depression) more strongly in the 2022 cohort than in the 2012 cohort. Findings suggest that as rural China undergoes rapid social change toward a competitive market‐oriented society, the adaptational significance of anxiety‐based shyness has become increasingly negative for child development.