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Research has shown that unsociability, reflected as a personal choice, is not necessarily associated with socio-emotional problems in Western countries. However, the associations between unsociability and peer problems are consistently evident in Chinese culture, yet the strength and direction in these associations are mixed. The present study aimed to examine whether unsociability is associated with peer problems and explored the potential moderators among the associations. A meta-analysis was conducted using publications that measured unsociability and peer problems. A total of 21 articles involving 43 effect sizes from 12,696 Chinese children and adolescents were included. The results revealed that (1) unsociability was positively associated with peer problems (r = 0.32, p < 0.001) among children and adolescents. (2) Informants (i.e., self-reports, peer nominations, teacher ratings, and parent ratings) and living areas (i.e., urban, suburban, and rural areas) significantly moderated the associations between unsociability and peer problems. Specifically, the associations were stronger for peer-nominated unsociability, self-reported peer problems, and samples in suburban areas. These findings shed light on unsociability linked to higher levels of peer problems among Chinese children and adolescents. Still, the influences are unique to peer problems and moderated by both data sources and environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this study was to evaluate a complex multiple mediation model linking parental support, homework self-efficacy, emotion regulation strategies (i.e. cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression), and homework emotions among Chinese children. Participants were 832 fourth and fifth grade students attending public primary schools in urban China. Measures of parental support, homework self-efficacy, emotion regulation strategies, and homework emotions were collected using self-report assessments. Results from multiple mediation analyses demonstrated that parental support indirectly predicted homework emotions through its positive associations with homework self-efficacy and cognitive reappraisal strategy. However, homework self-efficacy and expressive suppression strategy did not mediate the relation between parental support and homework emotions. Results are discussed with regard to the roles of homework self-efficacy and emotion regulation strategies in the links between parental support and children's homework emotions. Educational implications are also considered.

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-bar[subscript age] = 10.25 years) and middle schools (X-bar[subscript age] = 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.

The aim of the present study was to compare the relations between subtypes of social withdrawal and socio‐emotional adjustment in Chinese children and early adolescents. Participants included 571 children (Mage = 9.62 years) and 345 adolescents Mage = 12.12 years) in mainland China. Social withdrawal subtypes (i.e., shyness, unsociability, social avoidance) and indices of socio‐emotional adjustment were assessed via self‐reports, peer nominations, and teacher ratings. Shyness tended to be more strongly associated with emotional maladjustment in early adolescence, whereas unsociability was more strongly associated with socio‐emotional difficulties in childhood. For social avoidance, associations with indices of negative adjustment (i.e., social anxiety, emotional symptoms, peer problems) were stronger in childhood, however, associations with indices of positive adjustment (i.e., life satisfaction, well‐being) were stronger in early adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a multi‐ethnic country that is comprised of diverse cultural systems, there has been little research on the subcultural differences in emotional preferences in China. Also, little attention has been paid to examine how explicit and implicit attitudes towards emotions influence emotional preferences interactively. In this study, we manipulated explicit attitudes towards emotions among Han (N = 62) and Mongolian Chinese individuals (N = 70). We assessed participants' implicit attitudes towards emotions to explore their contributions to emotional preferences. (a) Han Chinese had lower preferences for pleasant emotions than Mongolian Chinese after inducing contra‐hedonic attitudes towards emotions, and (b) after priming contra‐hedonic attitudes towards emotions, the more Han Chinese participants evaluated pleasant emotions as negative implicitly, the less they preferred to engage in pleasant emotional activities. These findings contribute to the growing literature of subcultural differences and demonstrate that explicit and implicit attitudes towards emotions interactively influence individuals' emotional preferences between different subculture groups. [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]