Maternal encouragement of modest behavior, temperamental shyness, and anxious withdrawal linkages to Chinese American children's social adjustment: A moderated mediation analysis

Keywords

adjustment, culture, parents/parenting, shyness, social behavior

Abstract

Past studies have revealed potential differences in the functional meaning and social evaluation of children's temperamental shyness between Chinese interdependence‐oriented and North American independence‐oriented cultural contexts. However, very little is known about shy Chinese American children's adjustment in Western school contexts and potential pathways underlying their adjustment. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the associations between Chinese American children's temperamental shyness and their social adjustment outcomes, including peer exclusion, prosocial behavior, and assertiveness/leadership skills. In addition, the mediating role of children's display of anxious‐withdrawn behavior and the moderating role of first‐generation Chinese immigrant mothers’ encouragement of modesty in their parenting practices as applied to associations between temperamental shyness and social adjustment outcomes were explored. Path analyses indicated that the impact of Chinese American children's temperamental shyness on their socioemotional adjustment was mediated by their display of anxious‐withdrawn behavior in school. However, when Chinese immigrant mothers encouraged their children to be more modest, children's temperamental shyness was less strongly related to negative social adjustment outcomes through diminished anxious‐withdrawn behavior. These results highlighted the importance of culturally emphasized parenting practices in fostering Chinese American children's adjustment in the United States.

Original Publication Citation

Balkaya, M., Cheah, C.S.L., Yu, J. Hart, C.H., & Sun, S. (2018). Maternal encouragement of modest behavior, temperamental shyness, and anxious withdrawal linkages to Chinese American children’s social adjustment: A moderated mediation analysis. Social Development, 27

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2018-03-30

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/5430

Publisher

Social Development

Language

English

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Sociology

University Standing at Time of Publication

Full Professor

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