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Background: Young adults are at elevated risks of hikikomori (severe social withdrawal) under the COVID-19 pandemic, which could lead to psychological distress and suicidal ideation. Aims: The present study aimed to examine the associations among hikikomori, suicide stigma, suicidal ideation, and help-seeking behaviors among young adults in Hong Kong. Method: This study recruited a large sample of 2,022 young adults in Hong Kong via an online survey at the end of 2021. The participants completed the Hikikomori Questionnaire and validated measures on psychological distress, suicide stigma, and suicidal ideation severity and report their help-seeking behaviors. Multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to compare the profiles of the hikikomori groups. Path analysis evaluated the effects of hikikomori and suicide stigma on occurrence and severity of suicidal ideation and their associations with help-seeking behaviors. Results: Hikikomori showed significant and positive indirect effects on prevalence and severity of suicidal ideation via psychological distress. Glorification positively predicted hikikomori and suicidal ideation severity among suicidal persons. Hikikomori was associated with reduced help-seeking. Isolation and suicidal ideation were associated with greater barriers to seek help among the non-help-seekers. Perceived helpfulness of sought help was negatively associated with hikikomori and suicidal ideation among the help-seekers. Conclusions: The present findings demonstrated greater prevalence and severity of suicidal ideation and less help-seeking in young adults with hikikomori. Suicide stigma showed differential associations with hikikomori, suicidal ideation, and help-seeking behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigated how young children's (5‐to‐8‐year‐olds) social inhibition and solitary behavior were associated with teacher–child relationship quality and whether these associations differed across the Netherlands and China. The Dutch sample included 35 teachers and 201 children (49% girls). The Chinese sample consisted of 19 teachers and 152 children (50% girls). Teachers rated children's social inhibition and solitary behavior, and their relationship (closeness, conflict) with each child. Multilevel linear modeling revealed that in both countries, social inhibition was associated negatively with closeness and solitary behavior was associated positively with conflict. These associations were equally strong in China and the Netherlands. One association differed across countries: Social inhibition was associated negatively with conflict in the Netherlands, whereas this association was not significant in China. As such, cultural values could affect how social inhibition links to teacher–child relationships. Caution is recommended when generalizing findings from one country to another country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive function (EF) and receptive language ability play an important role in the relationship between household chaos and social withdrawal. Young children are neglected in household chaos research and suffer from the negative outcomes of households in China. However, few studies have focused on the relationship between household chaos and social withdrawal in young Chinese children and the chain mediating effect of EF and receptive language ability. This study included 922 preschool-age children (62.58 ± 8.03 months) and their primary caregivers and their teachers were recruited from 21 rural preschools in Guangdong Province in China. Our results show a positive direct effect of household chaos and social withdrawal. Furthermore, an indirect sequential effect of household chaos and social withdrawal on EF and receptive language ability was found. Our findings (a) highlight the significance of paying more attention to household chaos and revealing a better understanding of the effect of EF and receptive language ability on households at an early age and (b) indicate that interventions should be provided to improve the home environment when children are young. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has examined the adverse effects of peer and online victimization on adolescents' psychological distress, but little is known about the unique impact of peer and online victimization on psychological distress and the potential mechanisms underlying this association. This study investigates the distinctive direct and indirect relationship between peer victimization, online victimization, and adolescents' psychological distress through the potential chain mediation of social anxiety and withdrawal and the moderating role of gender differences. A total of 974 students from 6 elementary and junior high schools completed the self-report questionnaire in a cross-sectional survey. This study adopts structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized model. Results show that peer victimization directly influences adolescents' psychological distress, with stronger effects of peer victimization than online victimization. Social anxiety and social withdrawal mediate the relationship between peer victimization, online victimization, and psychological distress. In addition, the chain mediating mechanism of social anxiety and withdrawal functions in the relationship between peer victimization, online victimization, and psychological distress. Finally, females are more vulnerable to the effect of peer victimization on adolescents' psychological distress. The research deepens the knowledge of the unique effects of peer and online victimization, as well as the underlying mechanisms of social anxiety and withdrawal. This study also provides practical implications for policies, schools, and social workers for the prevention and intervention of victimization in adolescents and the promotion of their well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social withdrawal has been recognized as an umbrella term referring to internal motivations to remove oneself from familiar and/or unfamiliar social situations. Previous research has discovered different subtypes of social withdrawal: shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance. An increasing number of empirical studies have investigated an association between social withdrawal and peer problems. However, the strength of these associations varied considerably between studies. The present work performed separate three‒level meta‒analyses for studies involving youth from China or North America. In total, 42 studies including 44,740 youth were obtained based on a comprehensive literature search. Analysis revealed significant positive associations between social withdrawal and peer problems in both Chinese and North American youth, suggesting that social withdrawal was a risk factor for developing peer problems. In addition, there was a significant moderating effect of gender on the association between social withdrawal and peer problems in Chinese youth. Finally, the moderating effects of mothers' and fathers' educational background were observed in North American youth. In sum, current evidence contributes to a better understanding of the association between social withdrawal and peer problems. Highlights: We performed separate three-level meta-analyses for studies involving youth from China or North America. Analysis revealed significant positive associations between social withdrawal and peer problems. There was a significant moderating effect of gender on the association between social withdrawal and peer problems in Chinese youth. The moderating effects of mothers' and fathers' educational background were observed in North American youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A form of pathological social withdrawal which is also called hikikomori has been proved its existence in China. But the prevalence and characteristics of hikikomori in China remain unknown. Past studies had investigated the hikikomori phenomenon in three cities of China. The purpose of this study is to discover the prevalence of hikikomori in a convenient online sample in China as well as the difference in demographic characteristics and other possible traits between hikikomori sufferers and the general population. Methods: A total of 1,066 youths (mean age = 22.85 years) in China completed the online questionnaire, which consisted of questions about demographics, the 25-item Hikikomori Questionnaire (HQ-25), the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), the Loneliness Scale (UCLA), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). SPSS is used to evaluate the data. Results: Of the 1,066 youths, 980 (91.9%) were identified as belonging to group A (be not social isolation nor withdrawn), 46 (4.3%) to group B (marked social isolation in one's home or withdrawn with a duration of at least 3 months), and 40 (3.8%) to group C (marked both social isolation in one's home and withdrawn with a duration of at least 3 months). The hikikomori group (combined group B and group C) accounted for 8.1%. The present data suggest that residence and loneliness are related to the occurrence of hikikomori. HQ-25 score of the hikikomori group was significantly higher than the comparison group. The UCLA score showed that those in the hikikomori group felt lonelier than those in the comparison. The regression model predicted hikikomori risk (χ2 = 38.658, P = 0.000), the Hosmer-Lemeshow test value is 7.114 and P = 0.524 > 0.05. Conclusion: The grouping criterion in our present study is reasonable and such a grouping criterion can screen out potential populations of hikikomori. When people develop into hikikomori sufferers in the present, their social withdrawal behaviors and feeling of loneliness are both much more severe than in the past. The possible relationships between hikikomori and loneliness reflect the need to give the youths more social support, to help them connect with society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smartphone distraction (SD) is closely related to depression, and the prevalence of SD among nursing students is gradually increasing. However, the potential mechanism of the effect of SD on nursing students' depression is unclear. A total of 574 nursing students were assessed using Smartphone Distraction Scale, Ruminative Response Scale, Hikikomori Questionnaire, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. The results indicated that SD among nursing students had an impact on depression through four pathways: (1) SD was positively associated with depression (β = 0.353, P < 0.001); (2) Rumination (β = 0.199, 95% CI: 0.081 to 0.162) and social withdrawal (β = 0.061, 95% CI: 0.034 to 0.091) mediated the effects of SD on depression, respectively; and (3) Rumination and social withdrawal played a chain mediating role in the effect of SD on nursing students' depression (β = 0.027, 95% CI: 0.015 to 0.042). The negative impact of SD on nursing students' mental health should not be taken lightly. Schools and hospitals should guide nursing students to use smartphones correctly, including providing mental health education and professional psychological counselling; families could play a supervisory role and communicate regularly to understand the psychological state and learning of nursing students. These measures can help nursing students cope with stress and reduce the risk of depression., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

This study explores the relationship between social withdrawal and problematic social media use among college students, with a focus on the mediating roles of alexithymia and negative body image. Using the University Student Social Withdrawal Questionnaire, Social Media Addiction Scale, Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and Negative Body Image Scale, 2582 college students (33.46% male, average age = 19.46 years, SD = 2.23) were surveyed. Social withdrawal, alexithymia, negative body image, and problematic social media use were significantly correlated with each other. Social withdrawal positively predicted problematic social media use, and both alexithymia and negative body image played a chain mediating role between social withdrawal and problematic social media use. The findings indicate that individual social withdrawal is associated with college students' problematic use of social media. The results suggest that alexithymia and negative body image may mediate this association, highlighting a potential pathway through which social withdrawal influences social media use patterns., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

During middle childhood, Chinese boys are particularly at risk to develop both externalizing (e.g., overt aggression) and internalizing behavioral problems (e.g., social withdrawal). A possible contributor to these problems is that boys cannot regulate their anger very well. Inability to manage anger may cause a particular social challenge for Chinese boys. Open expression of anger may be prohibited by prevailing Chinese cultural norms, because it emphasizes individuality over harmony. But anger is a socially disengaging emotion which works against social harmony. This situation requires Chinese boys to manage and express anger appropriately in social interactions. Based on the hierarchical model of social relationships and the three trends of human interactions, this study examined three pathways-- aggression, social withdrawal, and sociability-leadership--that lead from Chinese boys' anger dysregulation to their lower social status among peers at school. Participants of this study were 267 boys in Grades 3-6 from an elementary school in urban China. A self-report questionnaire of anger dysregulation was used to evaluate how often Chinese boys express their anger in dysregulated ways (e.g., attacking things or people). Peer nominations were used to measure children's overt aggression (moving against peers), social withdrawal (moving away from peers), and sociability-leadership (moving toward peers). Social status was assessed by a sociometric measure which evaluates the degree to which children were liked by their classmates. Results showed that boys' anger dysregulation was negatively associated with their social status. Moreover, aggression, social withdrawal, and social skills fully mediated this association. This study enriches our understanding of the mechanisms linking anger dysregulation to lower social status and provides practical implications to help Chinese boys improve social and emotional functioning in middle childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goals of the present study were to (a) develop and validate a new self-report measure of social avoidance for use among early adolescents in mainland China and (b) explore the links between subtypes of social withdrawal (i.e., shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance) and indices of socio-emotional difficulties in this cultural context. Participants were 663 early adolescents (350 boys, 313 girls) attending elementary schools ( X ¯ a g e = 10.25 years) and middle schools ( X ¯ a g e = 12.53 years) in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Measures of social withdrawal subtypes and adjustment were collected using multi-source assessments, including self-reports, peer nominations, and teacher ratings. The results provided evidence in support of the reliability and validity of the new scale of self-reported social avoidance. Shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance were also all uniquely associated with emotion dysregulation and self-reported internalizing problems. However, only social avoidance was uniquely associated with teacher-rated emotion symptoms and peer problems (as rated by both peers and teachers). Results are discussed in terms of the reasons why social avoidance may have particularly negative implications for early adolescents in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the differentiation and correlates of shyness and unsociability during early adolescence in urban and rural China. Participants were 93 urban and 229 rural Chinese sixth- to eighth-graders. Students rated their shyness, unsociability, fear of negative evaluation, self-efficacy for peer interactions, and perceived peer exclusion. In both urban and rural adolescents, shyness and unsociability were separate, but correlated, factors, and shyness was more strongly related to fear of negative evaluation (positively), self-efficacy for peer interactions (negatively), and perceived exclusion (positively), than unsociability. There was some evidence that shy adolescents perceived more peer exclusion in the urban context. The findings provided preliminary evidence for the differentiation of shyness and unsociability in urban and rural Chinese adolescents, and highlighted the role of social-cultural context in the implications of shyness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of social withdrawal subtypes is no longer limited to Western societies but has extended to non-Western countries, such as China. This study considers, for the first time, social withdrawal subtypes in an African country (Nigeria) by examining emerging adults' (N = 151; 54% female; Mage = 19.92 years, SD = 2.54) perceptions, attitudes, and responses to shy, unsociable, and socially competent behaviors. Results revealed that Nigerian emerging adults perceived significant differences between shy, unsociable, and socially competent behavior in several ways incommensurate with participants of previous studies conducted in North America, Europe, and China. Findings highlight the diversity of social meanings attached to social withdrawal in non-Western societies, and point to the need for additional research on social withdrawal and its perception in Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the developmental outcomes of children's social withdrawal in non-Western societies. The present study examined how two main forms of social withdrawal, social reticence and solitary-passive behavior, in early childhood were associated with adjustment in late childhood in Chinese children (75 boys and 92 girls). Data on reticent and solitary-passive behaviors were collected at 4 years of age from laboratory observations. Follow-up data on school, behavioral, and psychological adjustment were collected at 11 years of age from multiple sources. It was found that whereas reticent behavior mainly predicted later psychological problems such as loneliness and depression, solitary-passive behavior predicted later school incompetence and externalizing problems. The results suggest that reticence and solitary-passive behavior may represent distinct forms of withdrawal that play different roles in maladaptive development in Chinese context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 2011 Hong Kong population census, 26.4% of domestic households were in the poverty category, and one in every four children (26.4%) lived in low-income households. Children in low-income families face financial and material barriers, and these barriers leave them trapped in a cycle of disempowerment. The present study has invited 1622 children aged three to six and 152 teachers in ten kindergartens in the top five child-poverty-rated districts in Hong Kong to participate in the study (a) to validate the psychometric properties of the culturally and developmentally appropriate Preschool Play Behavior Scale (PPBS) with a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) model, (b) to assess social withdrawal in three subtypes — reticence, solitary-passive, solitary-active and social play among preschoolers in low-income families, (c) to investigate gender difference in social withdrawal and social play, (d) to investigate age difference in social withdrawal and social play, and (e) to inform early childhood intervention to children in low-income families. The PPBS has adopted 18 items assessing five factors: reticence, solitary-passive, solitary-active, rough play, and social play. The “back-translation” procedure – a commonly used procedure in the translation of cross-cultural research instruments – was adopted. Results indicated that the five-factor model of the PPBS statistically fits the results of the Hong Kong samples. Girls exhibited greater social competence (social play) less socially withdrawal behavior. Social play behavior increased with age, while social withdrawal decreased with age. Cultural contexts (emic consideration) on scale items were received attention in future research. Recommendations for cultural understandings on shyness, social withdrawal and social disinterest, and concurrent validation of the PIPPS (Hong Kong version) were made in the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this reply to the commentaries by Xinyin Chen, Charissa Cheah, Yiyuan Xu, and Dawn Watling, we further discuss the conceptual and methodological challenges that arise when attempting to study beliefs about social withdrawal (1) in the unique cultural context of China and (2) in the unique developmental age period of early childhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unsociable children are likely to develop adjustment difficulties in Chinese society. The primary goal of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of behavioural control on the relation between unsociability and peer problems in Chinese children. Participants were fourth to eighth grade students in urban China ( N = 787). Assessments of unsociability, shyness, peer problems and behavioural control were obtained from peer nominations and teacher ratings. Results indicated that unsociability was positively related to peer problems in Chinese children after controlling for shyness. Also, the relation between unsociability and peer problems was attenuated among children with higher behavioural control. Thus, behavioural control may be a buffering factor that serves to protect unsociable children from developing peer problems. Gender and age also moderated these associations. Results are discussed in terms of the meaning and implications of unsociability and behavioural control in Chinese culture. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary goal of this study was to examine the short-term longitudinal associations between unsociability, shyness, and indices of adjustment among Chinese children. Participants were 787 children (ages 10-14 years) in an urban area in China. Assessments of unsociability, shyness, and adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including peer nominations, self-reports, and school records. Results indicated that while controlling for the effects of shyness, unsociability was associated with socioemotional and school difficulties. In particular, unsociability appeared to act as a risk factor for later peer problems and internalizing difficulties across the school year. Some gender differences were also observed in the longitudinal associations between unsociability and indices of adjustment. Results are discussed in terms of the meaning and implication of unsociability in Chinese culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Social withdrawal subtypes (shy, unsociable, & social avoidance) were identified. • The subtypes had distinct mental health trajectories in response to the pandemic. • Social avoidant people had the poorest mental health across the pandemic. • Shy people's mental health did not change with the development of the pandemic. • Unsociable people respond to the pandemic similarly to the non-withdrawn people. The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has pervasive implications for the well-being of people, especially for the social withdrawn individuals. The present study examined changes of well-being among people in distinct subgroups of social withdrawal – shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance –in different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic using six-wave longitudinal data in China (N = 222; 54.50% female). Results showed that, in general, well-being sharply decreased from the initial phase to the peak phase of the pandemic, but steadily recovered after the peak phase. People in different withdrawal groups displayed different levels and trajectories of well-being during a period of six months. The current study has implications for developing targeted interventions for vulnerable people in public health crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to critically discuss state inaction on and NGO responses to the hidden problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on data drawn from six focus groups of social workers working with youths experiencing the problem of social withdrawal and another 30 individual interviews with service users having had this vulnerable background. Findings – Substantiated with empirical findings, the paper argues that young people in social withdrawal characterized by their socially avoidant behavior and deprivation of an engagement status as a worker, student or trainee are largely invisible to the state because of the latter's insensitivity to the heterogeneity and diversity of disengaged youth and reproduction of the anti-social notion of at-risk youth. A flexible and tailor-made strategy initiated by an NGO is argued to be more effective in meeting the needs of silently-disengaged young people. Originality/value – This paper critically examines state inaction on the problem of youth disengagement in the form of social withdrawal and argues the importance of adopting a flexible and tailor-made strategy with regard to both outreaching and service provision efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to explore attitudes and responses to different forms of social withdrawal in China and Canada. Participants in this study were children in early elementary school in the People’s Republic of China (n = 213; 113 boys, 100 girls, Mage = 6.11 years) and Canada (n = 162; 60 boys, 102 girls, Mage = 6.20 years). Children were presented with hypothetical vignettes describing the behaviours of shy, unsociable, and socially competent peers and responded to questions designed to assess their perceptions, attitudes, and responses. Results indicated that Chinese and Canadian children differed in their responses, particularly with regard to hypothetical unsociable peers. These findings shed some additional light on possible cross-cultural differences in the meaning and implications of different forms of social withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is vested with the purpose of critically discussing the defining features of social withdrawal by drawing references from studies in Hong Kong and Japan in particular. With the use of empirical data, the practice implications for working with young people in acute social withdrawal are examined with specific reference to the four defining features, namely, time, place, social relations and social status. It is argued that unless the defining features and the implied directions for measures and practice are thoroughly addressed, personal troubles and social ills that give rise to the downward spiral of withdrawal as a personal experience and social phenomenon cannot be broken. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the present study was to examine the moderating effect of academic achievement in the longitudinal relations between social avoidance and socioemotional adjustment in Chinese children. Participants were N = 578 children (M age = 11.24 years, SD = 1.33 years) attending public schools in Shanghai, P.R. China. We assessed motivations for social withdrawal, academic achievement, and peer problems via self-reports, peer nominations, and school records. Among the results, social avoidance (positively) and academic achievement (negatively) uniquely and significantly predicted later feelings of loneliness, peer problems, and lower peer acceptance. Moreover, academic achievement significantly moderated the relations between social avoidance and later peer problems (but not loneliness or peer acceptance). The current findings suggest that although social avoidance poses unique developmental risk over time, academic achievement may serve as a protective factor against peer difficulties among Chinese youth. We discuss the results in terms of the implications of social avoidance and academic achievement in Chinese culture. • Socially avoidant children may be at increased risk for maladjustment in China. • Academic achievement is highly valued in Chinese cultures. • Social avoidance and poor academic achievement predicted socioemotional problems. • Academic achievement moderated the effects of social avoidance on peer problems. • Intervention efforts may be warranted to ameliorate avoidant youth's adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the light of the social exclusion perspective, this paper discusses the indicators and different forms of social withdrawal experienced by young people in Hong Kong. The study examined the case records of 88 service users aged 13–24, and conducted 4 focus group interviews with a team of social workers involved in outreaching and reengaging the socially excluded users. Youth's personal agency exercised in their reaction to life events and crisis in the form of social withdrawal is arguably a complex social process, which is shaped, amongst other factors, by the hegemonic definition of youth trajectories and transitions to adulthood, and equally important by social exclusion at the institutional, cultural and relational levels. It is argued that both the structural and subjective dimensions of social withdrawal and reengagement work deserve critical examination in order not to further reproduce social inequalities and disadvantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have identified specific parenting practices used by parents of preschoolers in mainland China (e.g., physical coercion, overprotection, shaming, directiveness, encouragement of modesty). Some of the intrusive practices have been linked to social withdrawal in western societies (e.g., United States, Canada). It seemed important to examine these associations in China because recent research suggests that young Chinese children who exhibit wariness in peer settings may be at risk for negative outcomes such as peer rejection. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relation between Chinese parenting practices and preschoolers' social withdrawal. Mothers of preschool-age children from mainland China (N = 446) completed self-report parenting questionnaires. Teachers rated children's reticent, solitary-passive, solitary-active, and modest behaviors. Results showed that (a) maternal directiveness was positively associated with reticent behavior in girls and negatively associated with solitary-passive behavior in boys, (b) maternal overprotection, for girls, was positively related to both reticent behavior and solitary-passive behavior, and negatively related to modest behavior, (c) coercion was positively associated with solitary-active and reticent behavior in girls, and (d) shaming was positively related to all forms of withdrawn behaviors in boys and girls, as well as positively related to modest behavior in boys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this commentary on Ding et al. ( Brit. J. Dev. Psychol., 2015; 33, 159-173), we focus on the following: (1) the authors' use of vignettes portraying various prototypes of withdrawn children and (2) the cultural interpretation of their findings. We end with some suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ding et al. ( Brit. J. Dev. Psychol., 2015; 33, 159-173) demonstrated that Chinese children discriminate between the three subtypes of social withdrawal: Shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance. This commentary on the Ding et al.'s paper highlights the need to further explore the following: (1) children's understanding of the implications of being shy, unsociable, or socially avoidant, including assessing these which we know are associated with outcomes for socially withdrawn children; (2) what additional subtypes might exist naturally within the Chinese culture; and (3) consider the implications of social withdrawal on children's developing social skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study constructed a moderated mediation model based on problem behavior theory to explore the psychological mechanism of family functioning interaction with pathological internet use. We used the Adolescent Pathological Internet Use Scale, General Functioning Scale, Trait Hope Scale, and Social Withdrawal Scale to measure internet use in 1223 middle school students. The results showed that (1) pathological internet use was negatively correlated with family functioning and hope, and positively correlated with social withdrawal; family functioning was positively correlated with hope, and negatively correlated with social withdrawal; hope was negatively correlated with social withdrawal; (2) family functioning could not only directly predict pathological internet use, but also indirectly predict pathological internet use through hope; and (3) the mediating effect of family functioning on pathological internet use was moderated by social withdrawal, which was stronger for individuals with low social withdrawal but not significant for individuals with high social withdrawal. This study revealed the internal mechanism of the relation between family functioning and adolescents' pathological internet use, which has theoretical significance for improving adolescents' hope and reducing their pathological internet use.

The goal of the present study was to empirically examine different conceptual mechanisms previously postulated to underlie the development of social avoidance in childhood. Participants were N = 601 children (321 boys, 280 girls) attending elementary schools (M age  = 10.21 years) and middle schools (M age  = 12.77 years) in Shanghai, P.R. China. Measures of motivations for social withdrawal (shyness, unsociability, social avoidance) and socio-emotional adjustment were collected using self-reports and peer nominations at two time-points separated by 9 months. Results from cross-lagged panel analyses indicated that: (1) social avoidance and symptoms of social anxiety were not reciprocally related over time; (2) Time 1 social avoidance predicted incremental change in Time 2 peer problems (whereas Time 1 peer problems did not predict incremental change in Time 2 social avoidance); and (3) Time 1 symptoms of depression significantly predicted incremental change in Time 2 social avoidance (whereas Time 1 social avoidance did not predict incremental change in Time 2 symptoms of depression). These results provide evidence in support of depressive symptoms (but not symptoms of social anxiety or peer problems) as a salient predictor of social avoidance. Results are discussed in terms of the development and implications of social avoidance in Chinese culture.

The goal of this study was to examine longitudinal associations among unsociability and indices of socio‐emotional functioning in a sample of young Chinese children. Participants were N = 360 children (Mage = 4.72 years, SD = .67) recruited from kindergarten classes in an urban area of China. Assessments of unsociability and adjustment were obtained at 2 time points (separated by 1 year) using multiple source assessments (maternal reports, child interviews, teacher ratings). Among the results, unsociability was concurrently (but not longitudinally) associated with teacher‐rated anxiety‐withdrawal at school. Some evidence of gender differences was also evident, with Time 1 peer preference more strongly associated with lower unsociability at Time 2 among girls than among boys. Results are discussed in terms of the meaning and implications of unsociability among young children in China. Highlights: This study explored associations among young children's unsociability and socio‐emotional functioning in China.Unsociability was associated with anxiety‐withdrawal at Time 1 but did not predict emotional or social difficulties 1 year later.Results suggest that unsociable behaviour may not as problematic for young Chinese children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]