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“My Child is Shy and Has No Friends: What Does Parenting Have to Do with It?”

  • Empirical Research
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Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that parents may react differentially to children based on their children’s temperament, children’s gender, and the interaction of these factors. Furthermore, parents’ differential reactions to their children have direct implications for their children’s social success. The present study assessed the moderating influence of mothers’ and fathers’ psychological control on the relationship between shy temperament and peer exclusion in grade five children (n = 153; 57% female), an age during which peer connections are particularly salient. Teachers reported on children’s shyness and peer exclusion, and children reported on parents’ psychological control. Regression analyses showed fathers’ psychological control to be associated with greater peer exclusion for males. Both mothers’ and fathers’ psychological control were associated with peer exclusion for shy females. Results suggest the importance of parents considering how psychologically controlling behaviors may work in concert with their children’s gender and temperament in influencing peer connections during the adolescent transition.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this project was an internal grant awarded to the first author at University of Windsor. The first author would like to thank the many students in his lab who worked tirelessly to contact schools, collect data, and complete data entry.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada

    Scott R. Miller, Volha Tserakhava & Carlin J. Miller

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  1. Scott R. Miller
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  2. Volha Tserakhava
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  3. Carlin J. Miller
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Correspondence to Scott R. Miller.

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Miller, S.R., Tserakhava, V. & Miller, C.J. “My Child is Shy and Has No Friends: What Does Parenting Have to Do with It?”. J Youth Adolescence 40, 442–452 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9550-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-010-9550-5

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