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Shyness and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Adolescents: Self-efficacy Beliefs as Mediators

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Abstract

This study aimed to examine the effect of multiple domains of self-efficacy on the relationship between shyness and subjective well-being among Chinese adolescents. A sample of 763 Chinese adolescents (M = 14.77 years old, SD = 1.63; 55% boys) completed the Shyness Scale, the Social Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, the Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Questionnaire, and the Subjective Well-Being Scale. Structural equation model analysis showed that both regulatory emotional self-efficacy and social self-efficacy partially mediated the relationship between shyness and subjective well-being. Moreover, shyness negatively influenced subjective well-being through the chain of regulatory emotional self-efficacy and social self-efficacy. Overall, the findings supported the multiple mediating roles of self-efficacy beliefs between shyness and subjective well-being, which enhanced our understanding of how self-efficacy beliefs impact shy youths’ subjective well-being in China. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings were discussed.

Highlights

  • Shyness was negatively associated with subjective well-being in Chinese adolescents.

  • Both regulatory emotional self-efficacy and social self-efficacy partially mediated the effect of shyness on subjective well-being.

  • Regulatory emotional self-efficacy and social self-efficacy played a chain-mediating role between shyness and subjective well-being.

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Acknowledgements

The preparation of the manuscript is partially supported by the Research Program Funds (2020-05-0033-BZPK01) of the Collaborative Innovation Center Assessment toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University awarded to C.L., and by Australian Endeavour Research Fellowship (ERF PDR_l 53290_2015) awarded to Y.Y.

Author Contributions

C.L.: designed and executed the study; and wrote the manuscript. Y.W.: analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. M.L.: wrote the manuscript. C.S.: assisted with data collection and data analyses. Y.Y.: designed the study and wrote the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Shaanxi Normal University Branch of Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment toward Basic Education Quality at Beijing Normal University, School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, China

    Caina Li, Yuan Wang & Cuicui Sun

  2. Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Meng Liu

  3. School of Behavioural and Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia

    Ying Yang

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  1. Caina Li
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  2. Yuan Wang
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  3. Meng Liu
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  5. Ying Yang
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Correspondence to Ying Yang.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Shannxi Normal University provided IRB approval for the study.

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Li, C., Wang, Y., Liu, M. et al. Shyness and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Adolescents: Self-efficacy Beliefs as Mediators. J Child Fam Stud 29, 3470–3480 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01823-0

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