Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Associations Between Shyness and Internalizing Behaviors, Externalizing Behaviors, and Relationships during Emerging Adulthood

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Many studies have documented the ways in which shyness can be a barrier to personal well-being and social adjustment throughout childhood and adolescence; however, less is known regarding shyness in emerging adulthood. Shyness as experienced during emerging adulthood may continue to be a risk factor for successful development. The purpose of this study was to compare shy emerging adults with their non-shy peers in (a) internalizing behaviors, (b) externalizing behaviors, and (c) close relationships. Participants included 813 undergraduate students (500 women, 313 men) from a number of locations across the United States. Results showed that relatively shy emerging adults, both men and women, had more internalizing problems (e.g., anxious, depressed, low self-perceptions in multiple domains), engaged in fewer externalizing behaviors (e.g., less frequent drinking), and experienced poorer relationship quality with parents, best friends, and romantic partners than did their non-shy peers.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Given the reduction in variance of the shyness variable by splitting it into groups, analyses were also conducted using multivariate multiple regression with shyness as a continuous variable. The results using regression analyses were virtually identical to those using MANOVA.

References

  • Asendorpf, J. B. (1989). Shyness as a final common pathway for two different kinds of inhibition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 542–549.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asendorpf, J. B. (1991). Development of inhibited children’s coping with unfamiliarity. Child Development, 62, 1460–1474.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Asendorpf, J. B. (1993). Beyond temperament: A two-factor coping model of the development of inhibition during childhood. In K. H. Rubin & J. Asendorpf (Eds.), Social withdrawal, inhibition, and shyness in childhood (pp. 265–290). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (1997). Learning to stand alone: The contemporary American transition to adulthood in cultural and historical context. Human Development, 41, 295–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2003). Conceptions of the transition to adulthood among emerging adults in American ethnic groups. In J. J. Arnett & N. L. Galambos (Eds.), New directions in child and adolescent development: Exploring cultural conceptions of the transition to adulthood, 100, 63–75.

  • Arnett, J. J. (2004). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bianchi, S. (1990, June). America’s children: Mixed prospects. Population Bulletin. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.

  • Boivin, M., Hymel, S., & Bukowski, W. M. (1995). The roles of social withdrawal, peer rejection, and victimization by peers in predicting loneliness and depressed mood in childhood. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 765–785.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bruch, M. A., Gorsky, J. M., Collins, T. M., & Berger, P. A. (1989). Shyness and sociability reexamined: A multicomponent analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 904–915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buchanan, C. M., Maccoby, E. E., & Dornbusch, S. M. (1991). Caught between parents: Adolescents’ experience in divorced homes. Child Development, 62, 1008–1029.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgess, K. B., Rubin, K. H., Cheah, C. S. L., & Nelson, L. J. (2001). Behavioral inhibition, social withdrawal, and parenting. In W. R. Crozier & L. E. Alden (Eds.), International handbook of social anxiety: Concepts, research, and interventions relating to the self and shyness (pp. 137–158). Sussex, UK: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buss, A. H. (1986). A theory of shyness. In W. H. Jones, J. M. Cheek, & S. R. Briggs (Eds.), Shyness: Perspectives on research and treatment (pp. 39–46). New York: Plenum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carbery, J., & Buhrmester, D. (1998). Friendship and need fulfillment during three phases of young adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 393–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll, J. S., Willoughby, B., Badger, S., Nelson, L. J., Barry, C. M., & Madsen, S. D. (2007). So close, yet so far away: The impact of varying marital horizons on emerging adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Research, 22, 219–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A. (2000). The child is father of the man: Personality continuities from childhood to adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 158–172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., Elder, G. H., & Bem, D. J. (1988). Moving away from the world: Life-course patterns of shy children. Developmental Psychology, 24, 824–831.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caspi, A., & Silva, P. A. (1995). Temperamental qualities at age three predict personality traits in young adulthood: Longitudinal evidence from a birth cohort. Child Development, 66, 486–498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cheek, J. M., & Krasnoperova, E. N. (1999). Varieties of shyness in adolescence, adulthood. In L. A. Schmidt & J. Schulkin (Eds.), Extreme fear, shyness, and social phobia: Origins, biological mechanisms, and clinical outcomes (pp. 224–250). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coplan, R. J., Findlay, L. C., & Nelson, L. J. (2004). Characteristics of preschoolers with lower perceived competence. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 32, 399–408.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coplan, R. J., Rubin, K. H., Fox, N. A., Calkins, S. D., & Stewart, S. L. (1994). Being alone, playing alone, and acting alone: Distinguishing among reticence and passive and active solitude in young children. Child Development, 65, 129–137.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Crozier, W. R. (2002). Shyness. The Psychologist, 15, 460–463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gest, S. D. (1997). Behavioral inhibition: Stability and associations with adaptation from childhood to early adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 467–475.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, C. H., Yang, C., Nelson, L. J., Robinson, C. C., Olsen, J. A., Nelson, D. A., Porter, C. L., Jin, S., Olsen, S. F., & Wu, P. (2000). Peer acceptance in early childhood and subtypes of socially withdrawn behavior in China, Russia and the United States. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 24, 73–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hymel, S., Bowker, A., & Woody, E. (1993). Aggressive versus withdrawn unpopular children: Variations in peer and self perceptions in multiple domains. Child Development, 64, 879–896.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • John, O. P., Caspi, A., Robins, R. W., Moffitt, T. E., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1994). The “Little Five”: Exploring the nomological network of the Five-Factor model of personality in adolescent boys. Child Development, 65, 160–178.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J. (1999). The concept of behavioral inhibition. In L. A. Schmidt & J. Schulkin (Eds.), Extreme fear, shyness, and social phobia: Origins, biological mechanisms, and clinical outcomes (pp. 3–13). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., & Moss, B. A. (1962). Birth to maturity. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagan, J., Reznick, J. S., & Snidman, N. (1988). Biological bases of childhood shyness. Science, 240, 167–171.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kerr, M., Lambert, W. W., & Bem, D. J. (1996). Life course sequelae of childhood shyness in Sweden: Comparison with the United States. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1100–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Markey, C. N., Markey, P. M., & Tinsley, B. J. (2003). Personality, puberty, and preadolescent girls’ risky behaviors: Examining the predictive value of the Five-Factor Model of personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 405–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melchior, L. A., & Cheek, J. M. (1990). Shyness and anxious self-preoccupation during a social interaction. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 5, 117–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neeman, J., & Harter, S. (1986). Manual for the self-perception profile for college students. Unpublished manuscript, University of Denver: Denver, Colorado.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, L. J., & Barry, C. M. (2005). Distinguishing features of emerging adulthood: The role of self-classification as an adult. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 242–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, D. A., Nelson, L. J., Hart, C. H., Yang, C., & Jin, S. (2006a). Parenting and peer group behavior in cultural context. In X. Chen, D. French & B. Schneider (Eds.), Peer relations in cultural context (pp. 213–246). Cambridge, MA: University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, L. J., Hart, C. H., Wu, B., Yang, C., Roper, S. O., & Jin, S. (2006b). Relations between Chinese mothers’ parenting practices and social withdrawal in early childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 30, 261–271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, L. J., Rubin, K. H., & Fox, N. A. (2005). Social withdrawal, observed peer acceptance, and the development of self-perceptions in children ages 4 to 7 years. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 20, 185–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Putnam, S. P., Ellis, L. K., & Rothbart, M. K. (2001). The structure of temperament from infancy through adolescence. In A. Eliasz & A. Angleitner (Eds.), Advances/proceedings in research on temperament (pp. 165–182). Berlin: Pabst Scientist Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Renshaw, P. D., & Brown, P. J. (1993). Loneliness in middle childhood: Concurrent and longitudinal predictors. Child Development, 64, 1271–1284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rothbart, M. K., Ahadi, S. A., & Evans, D. E. (2000). Temperament and personality: Origins and outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 122–135.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Burgess, K. B., & Coplan, R. J. (2002a). Social withdrawal and shyness. In P. K. Smith & C. H. Hart (Eds.), Handbook of childhood social development (pp. 329–352). Oxford: Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Burgess, K. B., & Hastings, P. D. (2002b). Stability and social-behavioral consequences of toddlers’ inhibited temperament and parenting behaviors. Child Development, 73, 483–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H, Burgess, K. B., Kennedy, A. E., & Stewart, S. L. (2003). Social withdrawal in childhood. In R. A. Barkley & E. J. Mash (Eds.), Child psychopathology (2nd ed. pp. 372–406). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Chen, X., & Hymel, S. (1993). Socioemotional characteristics of withdrawn and aggressive children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39, 518–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Chen, X., McDougall, P., Bowker, A., & McKinnon, J. (1995). The Waterloo longitudinal project: Predicting internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescence. Developmental and Psychopathology, 7, 751–764.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, K. H., Nelson, L. J., Hastings, P. D, & Asendorpf, J. B. (1999). The transaction between parents’ perceptions of their children’s shyness and their parenting styles. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 23, 937–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanson, A., Hemphill, S. A., & Smart, D. (2004). Connections between temperament and social development: A review. Social Development, 13, 142–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schulenberg, J. E., & Zarrett, N. R. (2006). Mental health during emerging adulthood: Continuity and discontinuity in courses, causes, and function. In J. J. Arnett & J. L. Tanner (Eds.), Emerging adults in America: Coming of age in the 21st century (pp. 135–172). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

  • Smith, M. J., Abbey, A., & Scott, R. O. (1993). Reasons for drinking alcohol: Their relationship to psychosocial variables and alcohol consumptions. International Journal of Addictions, 28, 881–908.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, C. C., & Tracey, T. J. G. (2004). Relation of shyness with aspects of online relationships involvement. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21, 611–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitehead, B. D., & Popenoe, D. (2001). The state of our unions: The social health of marriage in America. Retrieved August, 2002, Available from: http://marriage.rutgers.edu

  • Whitehead, B. D., & Popenoe, D. (2002). The state of our unions: The social health of marriage in America. Retrieved August, 2002, Available from: http://marriage.rutgers.edu

  • Younger, A. J., Schneider, B. H., Wadeson, R., Guirguis, M., & Bergeron, N. (2000). A behavior-based peer-nomination measure of social withdrawal in children. Social Development, 9, 544–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors express appreciation to the instructors and students at all Project READY data collection sites for their assistance. We also are grateful for the grant support of the Family Studies Center at Brigham Young University, as well as the junior faculty sabbatical grant given to the fourth author by Loyola College in Maryland.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, 2091 JFSB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Larry J. Nelson

  2. School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, 2097 JFSB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Laura M. Padilla-Walker

  3. School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, 2086 JFSB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Sarah Badger

  4. Loyola College in Maryland, 4501 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD, 21210, USA

    Carolyn McNamara Barry

  5. School of Family Life, Brigham Young University, 2057 JFSB, Provo, UT, 84602, USA

    Jason S. Carroll

  6. McDaniel College, Westminster, MD, 21157, USA

    Stephanie D. Madsen

Authors
  1. Larry J. Nelson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Laura M. Padilla-Walker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sarah Badger
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Carolyn McNamara Barry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jason S. Carroll
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Stephanie D. Madsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Larry J. Nelson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nelson, L.J., Padilla-Walker, L.M., Badger, S. et al. Associations Between Shyness and Internalizing Behaviors, Externalizing Behaviors, and Relationships during Emerging Adulthood. J Youth Adolescence 37, 605–615 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9203-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9203-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation