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The goal of this study was to evaluate the measurement invariance of an adapted assessment of motivations for social withdrawal ("Social Preference Scale--Revised"; SPS-R) across cultural contexts and explore associations with loneliness. Participants were a large sample of university students (N = 4,397; M[subscript age] = 20.08 years, SD = 2.96; 66% females) from 10 countries (Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, India, Italy, South Korea, Norway, Turkey, and the United States). With this cross-cultural focus, we illustrate the "multiple-group factor analysis alignment method," an approach developed to assess measurement invariance when there are several groups. Results indicated approximate measurement invariance across the 10 country groups. Additional analyses indicated that overall, shyness, avoidance, and unsociability are three related, but distinct factors, with some notable country differences evident (e.g., in China, India, and Turkey). Shyness and avoidance were related positively to loneliness in all countries, but the strength of the association between shyness and loneliness differed in Italy and India relative to the other countries. Results also indicated that unsociability was related positively to loneliness in the United States only. Theoretical and assessment implications are discussed.

The aim of this study was to explore the moderating role of parenting behaviors (i.e., authoritative, authoritarian, protective, and maternal involvement) in the relations between unsociability and socio-emotional adjustment in a sample of young Chinese children. Participants were N = 487 children (283 boys, M[subscript age] = 58.88 months, SD = 10.23) attending preschool/kindergartens from suburban areas in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Mothers rated children's unsociability and parenting behaviors, whereas teachers provided ratings of children's socio-emotional functioning at school. Among the results, unsociability was positively associated with peer exclusion, asocial behavior, and anxious-fearful behavior. However, parenting behaviors significantly moderated these associations. Whereas authoritative parenting attenuated the relation between unsociability and peer exclusion (buffering effect), authoritarian parenting and protection each exacerbated the relations between unsociability and indices of socio-emotional difficulties. The current findings suggest that parenting behaviors may be instrumental in shaping young unsociable children's socio-emotional adjustment. Our results also inform best practices for parenting strategies in response to unsociability in young Chinese children.

Shy children display wariness in unfamiliar social situations and often experience feelings of social anxiety. This study explored the potential mediating role of cognitive biases in the link between shyness and social anxiety in early adolescence. In particular, we focused on judgments of the probability and cost of negative social situations (i.e., judgment biases). Six hundred eighty-six early adolescents aged 10 to 14 years (X-bar = 11.58, SD = 1.13) completed measures of shyness, judgment biases, and social anxiety. Among the results, shyness, judgment biases, and social anxiety were positively interassociated. Shyness and judgment biases significantly predicted social anxiety. Moreover, elevated judgments of both the probability and cost of negative social situations partially mediated the relation between shyness and social anxiety. Results are discussed in terms of the conceptual pathway from shyness to social anxiety, as well as implications for intervention programs.

The goal of this study was to examine links between observed social participation in the schoolyard and indices of socio-emotional functioning in early adolescence. Participants were children (N = 290) aged 9 to 12 years. Social participation (e.g., solitary play, dyadic interaction, group interaction) was assessed in the schoolyard during recess and lunch using behavioral observations. Measures of perceptions of peer difficulties (e.g., perceived peer relations, loneliness) and internalizing problems (e.g., social anxiety, depression) were provided via maternal ratings and child self-reports. Results from cluster analyses revealed several subgroups of children characterized by distinct patterns of social participation. The groups also differed in terms of their socio-emotional functioning. For example, nonsocial children (who displayed the most frequent solitary activities) reported the highest levels of internalizing problems and more peer difficulties. Results are discussed in terms of the utility of observed social participation behaviors as marker variables for socio-emotional difficulties in early adolescence.

The goal of this study was to develop and validate an interview assessment of "preference for solitary activities" for use with young children. We also tested the postulation that negative peer experiences would heighten preference for solitude, particularly among young shy children. Participants were N?=?193 children (87 boys, 106 girls; M[subscript age]?=?65.76?mos, SD?=?12.68) attending preschools and elementary schools (kindergarten, grade 1) located in south-eastern Ontario, Canada. Self-reported preference for solitude was measured with the newly developed "Preference for Solitary Play Interview" (PSPI). Children also reported their perceived peer acceptance. Mothers provided ratings of children's social withdrawal (shyness and unsociability) and social engagement outside of school, and teachers assessed children's socio-emotional functioning at school. Among the results, the newly developed PSPI displayed good psychometric properties and evidence of construct/convergent validity. For example, preference for solitary play was positively related to indices of social withdrawal, and negatively associated with social engagement, prosocial behaviour, and perceived peer acceptance. In addition, peer exclusion was found to exacerbate the association between shyness and preference for solitary play. Results are discussed in terms of the assessment and implications of preference for solitude in early childhood.

Background The Public Health Agency of Canada monitors the psychological and social well-being of Canadian youth using the Children's Intrinsic Needs Satisfaction Scale (CINSS). Validation analyses of the CINSS have been conducted, but not in the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth (CHSCY), a more recent and representative national survey with a different sampling frame, collection method and other measured outcomes. This study tested the validity of the CINSS in the 2019 CHSCY. Data and methods Data were collected in all provinces and territories from February 11 to August 2, 2019. The CINSS was administered to respondents aged 12 to 17 years and was designed to assess relatedness, autonomy and competence at home, at school and with friends. Descriptive statistics for CINSS items and subscales were obtained. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to test how well a correlated traits correlated uniqueness (CTCU) model fit the CINSS data. Associations with mental health and other psychosocial variables were examined. Results In general, items within the CINSS were correlated in expected ways, and support was found for a CTCU model in the CFA. While response distributions on the CINSS items were skewed, the CINSS subscales had acceptable internal consistency and were associated with self-rated mental health, happiness, life satisfaction, perceived stress, bullying victimization and behaviour problems in line with expectations. Interpretation This study supports the validity of the CINSS. Inclusion of the CINSS in future youth health surveys would allow for continued public health surveillance of the psychological and social well-being of youth in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Social isolation and loneliness are associated with poorer mental health among older adults. However, less is known about how these experiences are independently associated with positive mental health (PMH) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We analyzed data from the 2020 and 2021 cycles of the Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health to provide estimates of social isolation (i.e. living alone), loneliness and PMH outcomes (i.e. high self-rated mental health, high community belonging, mean life satisfaction) in the overall older adult population (i.e. 65+ years) and across sociodemographic groups. We also conducted logistic and linear regressions to separately and simultaneously examine how social isolation and loneliness are associated with PMH. Results: Nearly 3 in 10 older adults reported living alone, and over a third reported feelings of loneliness due to the pandemic. When examined separately, living alone and loneliness were each associated with lower PMH. When assessed simultaneously, loneliness remained a significant independent factor associated with all three PMH outcomes (overall and across all sociodemographic groups), but living alone was only a significant factor for high community belonging in the overall population, for males and for those aged 65 to 74 years. Conclusion: Overall, social isolation and loneliness were associated with poorer wellbeing among older adults in Canada during the pandemic. Loneliness remained a significant factor related to all PMH outcomes after adjusting for social isolation, but not vice versa. The findings highlight the need to appropriately identify and support lonely older adults during (and beyond) the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Findings from the 2020 Survey on COVID-19 and Mental Health (SCMH) suggested that the positive mental health of adults in Canada was lower during the second wave of the pandemic (fall 2020) than in 2019. With 2021 SCMH data from winter/spring 2021, we find in the current study that average life satisfaction and the prevalence of high selfrated mental health, high community belonging and perceptions of stable/improved mental health were even lower during the third wave of the pandemic as compared to the second wave in the overall adult population and in most sociodemographic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: 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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety and depression are often highly correlated in adolescence, and cognitive biases are commonly associated with both types of symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine cognitive biases in early adolescents showing: (a) elevated symptoms of anxiety; (b) elevated symptoms of depression; (c) elevated co-occurring symptoms of anxiety and depression; and (d) neither elevated symptoms of anxiety nor depression (comparison group). In particular, we were interested in the extent to which certain cognitive biases showed symptom specificity. Participants were N = 686 10- to 14-year-olds, who provided self-reports of anxiety, depression, and measures of cognitive biases. Four groups were created based on quartile cutoffs: anxious, depressed, anxious-depressed, and comparison. Among the results from multivariate analysis of variance, the anxious group thought negative events were more costly as compared to the depressed group. In contrast, the depressed group was higher in terms of negative causal attributions, overgeneralizing, selective abstraction, and negative views of the self, world, and future. The anxious-depressed group showed an overall more negative pattern of cognitive biases than all other groups. Symptoms of anxiety and depression are distinguishable in terms of certain cognitive biases, and the co-occurrence of symptoms is indicative of a particularly negative pattern of thinking. These findings have implications for intervention programs that could target specific cognitive biases. Highlights Are distinct patterns of cognitive biases evident among early adolescents with symptoms of anxiety, symptoms of depression, and co-occurring symptoms of anxiety and depression?, We collected self reports of cognitive biases. We also collected self reports of anxiety, depression, and cognitive biases, and created the following groups: 1) anxious; 2) depressed; 3) anxious-depressed; 4) comparison., Symptoms of anxiety and depression are distinguishable in terms of certain cognitive biases, and symptom co-occurrence may indicate a particularly maladaptive pattern of thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]