Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 183–188
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid
Self-reported shyness in Chinese children: Validation of the Children’s
Shyness Questionnaire and exploration of its links with adjustment
and the role of coping
Xuechen Ding a, Junsheng Liu b,⇑, Robert J. Coplan c, Xinyin Chen d, Dan Li b, Biao Sang a,e
a
School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
d
Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA
e
School of Preschool and Special Education, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
b
c
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 28 October 2013
Accepted 24 April 2014
Keywords:
Shyness
Coping
Adjustment
Chinese children
a b s t r a c t
The aims of the present study were to: (1) examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version on
the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire (Crozier, 1995) among elementary school children; and (2) explore
the links between shyness, coping style, and indices of socio-emotional functioning. Participants were
N = 580 children (311 boys, 269 girls, Mage = 11.14 years, SD = 1.37) in Shanghai, People’s Republic of
China. Measures of shyness, coping style, and adjustment were gathered using multi-source assessments,
including self-reports, peer nominations, teacher-ratings. Consistent with findings in North American
samples, results from factor analysis suggested a single-factor model of shyness among Chinese youth.
Shyness was also associated with a wide range of negative socio-emotional difficulties. As well,
emotion-focused coping was found to partially mediate relations between shyness and children’s
adjustment. Results are discussed in terms of the validity of this self-reported measure of shyness and
the role of coping for shy children’s adjustment in China.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Social withdrawal refers to the process whereby children
remove themselves from opportunities for social interactions and
frequently display solitary behaviors in social contexts (Coplan &
Rubin, 2010). It should be noted that under the wider ‘‘umbrella’’
term of social withdrawal, there are varieties of reasons why
children might choose to be alone (Coplan & Armer, 2007). A
prominently studied subtype of social withdrawal is shyness, a
temperamental trait characterized by excessive wariness and
feelings of unease in the face of social novelty and perceived
social-evaluation (Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009). According to
the motivation theory of Asendorpf (1990), shyness reflects a
combination of high social-approach motivation and high socialavoidance motivation. Therefore, shy children tend to experience
an approach-avoidance conflict, whereby they wish to interact with
peers but also fear social situations (Coplan, Prakash, O’Neil, &
Armer, 2004).
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal
University, Shanghai, China. Tel.: +86 021 64322331; fax: +86 021 64324583.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Liu).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.04.027
0191-8869/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
In recent years, researchers have begun to explore the meaning
and implications of shyness in non-Western cultures such as China
(Chen, Cen, Li, & He, 2005). For the most part, shyness in these
studies has been assessed using peer nomination procedures
(e.g., Chen et al., 2005). Although such protocols offer various
advantages (i.e., multiple ratings for each child averages across
classmates), self-reports may also provide unique advantages for
the assessment of shyness (particularly among older children)
because of the internal motivational and emotional processes that
underlie this construct. Accordingly, the primary goals of this study
were to examine the psychometric properties of a newly developed
Chinese version of an often-used self-report measure of shyness
(Children’s Shyness Questionnaire, Crozier, 1995) and to explore
the links between shyness, coping styles, and indices of socioemotional functioning among Chinese children.
1.1. Shyness and adjustment in Western cultures
From early childhood to adulthood, there is now considerable
empirical evidence concurrently and predicatively linking shyness
with indexes of socio-emotional maladjustment (Rubin et al.,
2009). For example, shy children are more likely to report lower
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X. Ding et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 183–188
self-esteem, greater loneliness and depression, and tend to be
rejected by peers (e.g., Coplan, Arbeau, & Armer, 2008; Crozier,
1995; Ladd, Kochenderfer-Ladd, Eggum, Kochel, & McConnell,
2011). Moreover, extreme shyness also places children at increased
risk for the later development of more serious mental health difficulties, including anxiety disorders (e.g., Hirshfeld-Becker et al.,
2007).
1.2. Shyness and adjustment in China
Culture plays a critical role in the development of children’s
social functioning. For example, peers and adults in different
cultures may evaluate specific socio-emotional behavior
differently (Chen & French, 2008). In traditional Chinese society,
wariness and behavioral restraint are thought to be more
positively evaluated and highly encouraged, and are thought to
reflect social maturity, mastery, and understanding (Chen, 2010;
Ho, 1986). As a result, children who are shy, sensitive, and wary
may obtain approval and support from important others (parents,
peers, teachers), which would help them to succeed socially and
academically. In support of this notion (and in contrast to results
in Western societies), shyness has been found to be positively
associated with indices of social, emotional, and school adjustment
(e.g., Chen, Rubin, & Sun, 1992).
However, during the past two decades China has been
experiencing large-scale economic reforms and dramatic societal
changes. Certain behavioral characteristics, such as initiative and
self-expression, would be more adaptive in urban areas to adjust
this more competitive environment (Chen et al., 2005). Results
from recent studies indicated that shyness in urban China is now
associated with adjustment difficulties, including peer rejection,
loneliness, and depression (Chen, Wang, & Wang, 2009; Chen
et al., 2005; Liu, Chen, Li, & French, 2012; Liu, Coplan, Chen, Li,
Ding, & Zhou, 2014).
1.3. Shyness, coping style, and indices of adjustment
Although substantial research has reported associations
between shyness and socio-emotional difficulties, less is known
about the conceptual mechanisms that may underlie these
relations. One construct that has begun to receive attention in
explaining the links between shyness and maladjustment is
children’s coping style (e.g., Findlay, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009;
Kingsbury, Coplan, & Rose-Krasnor, 2013; Markovic, Rose-Krasnor,
& Coplan, 2013). Coping style refers to the typical pattern of
responses one adopts when faced with a stressor (Causey &
Dubow, 1992). Of particular interest for the present study were
emotion-focused coping styles (e.g., worrying, getting mad), which
are considered maladaptive and tend to be associated with greater
behavior problems and lower social competence (e.g., Compas,
Connor-Smith, Salzman, Thomsen, & Wadsworth, 2001; Endler &
Parker, 1990).
Results from studies in Western samples indicate that shy
children are more likely to use emotion-focused coping styles in
response to social stressors (Eisenberg, Shepard, Fabes, Murphy,
& Guthrie, 1998; Jackon & Ebnet, 2006; Markovic et al., 2013).
Moreover, there is some recent evidence to suggest that
emotion-focused coping also appears to act as a mediator of the
relations between shyness and adjustment outcomes (Kingsbury
et al., 2013). For example, Findlay et al. (2009) reported that
emotion-focused coping partially mediated relations between
shyness and indices of internalizing problems (e.g., social anxiety,
loneliness). However, to date the mediated pathway from shyness,
to emotion-focused coping, to socio-emotional functioning has not
been examined among Chinese children.
1.4. The present study
Previous studies of shyness in Chinese children have all relied
upon peer-nominated assessments. Although peer reports offer
many advantages, the internal emotional and motivational processes that underlie shyness may be best assessed using self-report
measures, particularly with older children (Liu et al., 2014). With
this in mind, we sought to validate a Chinese version of the
Children Shyness Questionnaire (CSQ, Crozier, 1995), a psychometrically sound and well-validated self-report measure of childhood
shyness used often in Western cultures (e.g., Arbeau, Coplan, &
Matheson, 2012; Coplan et al., 2013; Kingsbury et al., 2013). Nevertheless, the psychometric properties of this measure have not been
examined in Chinese culture. Given the rapid process of modernization changed the adaptive function of shyness in urban China (Chen
et al., 2005), we expected self-reported shyness to be associated
with indices of children’s socio-emotional difficulties.
There is some evidence to suggest that emotion-focused coping
is also associated with socio-emotional difficulties among Chinese
children and adolescents (e.g., Auerbach, Abela, Zhu, & Yao, 2010;
Li, Chung, Wong, & Ho, 2010). However, links between shyness
and coping have not been explored to date among Chinese
children. Drawing upon recent findings in Western cultures
(Findlay et al., 2009; Kingsbury et al., 2013), we speculated that
shyness would be linked to maladjustment outcomes via a
mediated pathway through emotion-focused coping.
2. Method
2.1. Participants
Participants in this study were N = 580 children (311 boys, 269
girls) in grade 4, 5, and 6 (Mage = 11.14 years, SD = 1.37). Children
were selected randomly from 8 classes (with 30–40 students in
each class) in four public elementary schools in Shanghai, People’s
Republic of China. Almost all children were of Han nationality,
which is a predominant ethnic group (over 90% of the population)
in China. The demographic data for the present sample were
typical elementary school children and similar to those reported
by China State Statistics Bureau (e.g., National Bureau of Statistics
of China, 2011) concerning the urban population in China.
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Self-reported shyness
Children completed the newly created Chinese version of the
Children’s Shyness Questionnaire (CSQ, Crozier, 1995), a selfreported assessment of shyness in elementary school children.
The original version of this measure includes 25-items describing
the emotional and behavior components of shyness (e.g., ‘‘I find
it hard to talk to someone I don’t know’’, ‘‘I feel shy when I have
to read aloud in front of the class’’). The questionnaire was translated by a Chinese psychology professor and then independently
back-translated to English. Minor discrepancies between the two
versions were then discussed and resolved. The factor structure
and psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the CSQ in
the current sample are reported in the Results section.
2.2.2. Other self-report measures
Children’s loneliness was assessed by a Chinese version of selfreport measure which developed by Asher, Hymel, and Renshaw
(1984). This measure includes 16 self-statements rated on a
5-point scale (a = .84, e.g., ‘‘I feel lonely’’) and has been shown to
be reliable and valid with Chinese children (e.g., Liu et al., 2014).
Children’s depression was measured by a Chinese version of the
X. Ding et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 183–188
Childhood Depression Inventory (CDI, Kovacs, 1992). There are three
alternative responses for each item from which the participant
must choose the one that best describes her/him in the past two
weeks. The 14 items center on a given thought, feeling or behavior
associated with depression (a = .75, e.g., self-blame, fatigue,
reduced appetite). The measure has proved to be reliable and valid
in Chinese children (e.g., Chen et al., 2005).
Children also completed the Chinese version of the Self-Report
Coping Scale (Causey & Dubow, 1992), a 34-item measure of adaptive and maladaptive coping styles. Children were provided with a
lead question (‘‘When I have an argument with a friend, I usually. . .’’) and asked to indicate (on a 5-point Likert scale) how likely
they are to use various coping strategies. Of particular interest for
the present study was the sub-scale of emotion-focused coping (9
items, a = .73, e.g., ‘‘worry about it too much’’). Kingsbury, Liu,
Coplan, Chen, and Li (under review) recently reported good psychometric properties and evidence of validity for this measure in
a large sample of Chinese elementary school children.
2.2.3. Peer nominations
Children completed a peer nomination protocol adapted from
the Revised Class Play (RCP, Chen et al., 1992; originally developed
by Masten, Morison, & Pellegrini, 1985). Administrators read each
behavioral descriptor and children nominated up to three classmates who could best play the role if they were to direct a class
play. Subsequently, nominations received from all classmates were
used to compute each item score for each child (item scores were
standardized within class). Of particular interest for the present
study were subscales assessing shyness (3 items, a = .74, e.g., ‘‘very
shy’’) and peer victimization (3 items, a = .78, e.g., ‘‘Is pushed or hit
by other kids’’). These measurements have been previously demonstrated to be reliable and valid assessments in Chinese children
(e.g., Liu et al., 2014).
Children were also asked to nominate up to three classmates
with whom they most liked to be and least liked to be with. Nominations received from all classmates were totaled and standardized within each class. Cross-gender nominations were allowed.
Following Coie, Dodge, and Coppotelli’s (1982) procedure, a single
index of peer preference, was computed by subtracting negative
nomination scores from the positive nomination scores. The procedure has been used and proved valid with Chinese children (e.g.,
Chen, Rubin, & Li, 1995).
2.2.4. Teacher ratings
Finally, the head teacher of each class rated each child’s school
competence using the Teacher Child Rating Scale (Hightower et al.,
1986). The items in this scale included various aspects of schoolrelated social competence such as frustration tolerance, task orientation and social skills. Consistent with previous studies (e.g., Chen
et al., 2009), a global score of school competence was calculated
and standardized within class to control for response biases
(a = .86 in the current sample).
185
‘‘quiet with others’’, ‘‘say a lot when you meet someone for first
time?’’, ‘‘put your hand up’’, ‘‘easy to make friends’’, ‘‘not know
what to say’’, ‘‘enjoy having my photograph taken’’) and were subsequently eliminated from further analyses. Accordingly, the final
version of the Chinese CSQ consisted of 19 items (a = .83,
M = 1.79, SD = .38). Results from a 2 (Gender) 3 (Grade) ANOVA
indicated a significant main effect of Grade F(2, 569) = 4.88,
p < .01, g2 = .02 (children in grade 5 reported greater shyness than
children in grade 4) and Gender by Grade interaction, F(2,
569) = 4.63, p < .01, g2 = .02 (with girls reporting greater shyness
than boys in only grade 6).
3.2. Associations between shyness and indices of adjustment
Results from correlations among all study variables are displayed in Table 1. Of note, self-reported shyness (CSQ) was significantly (albeit modestly) associated with peer-nominated shyness
(RCP). In support of the convergent validity of the CSQ, shyness
was associated with indices of socio-emotional and school functioning across sources of assessment. For example, shyness was
significantly and positively associated self-reported loneliness,
depression, and emotion-focused coping, as well as peer-nominated peer victimization. As well, self-reported shyness was significantly and negatively associated with teacher-rated school
competence and peer nominated peer preference.
3.3. Mediating effects of emotion-focused coping
The goal of these analyses was to explore the potential mediating effect of emotion-focused coping style in the relations between
shyness and indices of adjustment. Mediating effect analyses were
conducting by a series of regression. At Step 1, the direct paths
from shyness to adjustment outcomes were examined. At Step 2,
the direct paths from shyness to emotion-focused coping style
were tested. Then shyness and coping style were entered simultaneously in predicting adjustment outcomes to test the indirect
paths at Step 3. Gender and grade were controlled and separate
equations were computed with each adjustment and each coping
style variable. Results are presented in Table 2.
At Step 1, after controlling for the effects of gender and grade,
shyness significantly predicted all indices of adjustment (i.e., direct
paths). At Step 2, shyness significantly predicted emotion-focused
coping. Finally, at Step 3, when emotion-focused coping and shyness were entered simultaneously into the regression model, the
strength of the relations between shyness and all indices of adjustment were reduced. Results from Sobel tests indicated significant
partial mediation effects for all variables (Z = 4.85, 5.22, 2.54,
3.01, all ps < .05) except for peer victimization (Z = 1.33, p > .05).
Therefore, the relations between shyness and indices of adjustment were partially mediated by emotion-focused coping.
3. Results
4. Discussion
3.1. Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Children’s
Shyness Questionnaire
CSQ items were subjected to a Confirmatory Factor Analysis
(CFA) using LISREL 8.70 to evaluate the previously established single-factor model of this measure in North American children
(Coplan et al., 2013; Crozier, 1995). Results indicated that overall,
the data fit well, v2 = 847.50, df = 275, v2/df = 3.08, p < .001,
NFI = .87, NNFI = .90, CFI = .91, GFI = .90, IFI = .91, RMSEA = .06.
However, loadings for six items were lower than .30 (.14–.26,
The primary goal of the current study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Children’s Shyness Questionnaire (CSQ, Crozier, 1995). Overall, our findings
provided promising initial evidence of the reliability and validity
of this measure among Chinese elementary school children. As
expected, children’s self-reported shyness was associated emotion-focused coping, as well as to indices of adjustment. Moreover,
emotion-focused coping was found to be a significant partial mediator of these relations.
186
X. Ding et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 183–188
Table 1
Correlations among all study variables.
1
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Shyness (self-report)
Loneliness
Depression
School competence
Peer preference
Peer victimization
Shyness (peer-report)
Emotion-focused coping
2
.33**
.37**
.17**
.15**
.11**
.10*
.28**
3
.61**
.30**
.28**
.20**
.06
.34**
4
.28**
.29**
.19**
.11*
.38**
5
.37**
.26**
.03
.16**
.40**
.08*
.18**
6
7
.28**
.09*
.05
*
p < .05.
**
p < .01.
Table 2
Mediating effects of emotion-focused coping in the relations between shyness and
outcomes.
Predictor
b
R2
F
Step 1: Direct effect of shyness on outcomes
Shyness
.33** .13 28.15**
Shyness
.37** .15 33.46**
Shyness
.18** .08 16.93**
Shyness
.15** .04
8.70**
Shyness
.11** .06 11.56**
Outcomes
Loneliness
Depression
School competence
Peer preference
Peer victimization
Step 2: Direct effect of shyness on emotion-focused coping
Shyness
.29** .08 17.31** Emotion-focused coping
Step 3: Indirect effect of shyness on outcomes
Shyness
.26** .19 33.64**
Emotion-focused coping
.26**
Shyness
.28** .23 43.14**
Emotion-focused coping
.30**
Shyness
.14** .10 14.72**
Emotion-focused coping
.12**
Shyness
.12** .06
9.49**
Emotion-focused coping
.14**
Shyness
.09*
.05
9.13**
Emotion-focused coping
.06
*
**
Loneliness
Depression
School competence
Peer preference
Peer victimization
p < .05.
p < .01.
4.1. Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the CSQ
To our knowledge, this was the first study to use the CSQ as a
self-report assessment of shyness in China. Overall, strong initial
support was found for the use of this measure in this context. First,
results of confirmatory factor analyses replicated the established
single-factor model of this measure previously reported in North
American children (Crozier, 1995; Findlay & Coplan, 2008). However, factor loadings for six items were lower than .30. There is
at least some previous evidence that some items from the CSQ
may not load as strongly on a single factor (Spooner, Evans, &
Santos, 2005). Of note, most of the eliminated items were
‘‘reversed-scored’’, with higher ratings indicative of sociability
and social competence. Notwithstanding, the resulting measure
still contained a relatively large number of items and demonstrated strong internal consistency.
Self-reported shyness (CSQ) was significantly (albeit modestly)
correlated with the more traditionally-used peer-nominated measure of shyness (RCP). Results from previous studies in Western
samples also suggest that associations between measures of shyness across different sources of assessment are modest to moderate in strength (e.g., Spangler & Gazelle, 2009; Spooner et al.,
2005). It may be that self-report and peer-nominated measures
of shyness assess different aspects of shyness. For example, peernominations may focus more on the external aspects of shyness,
judging children largely upon their overt and exhibited behaviors.
In contrast, self-reports of shyness are likely to more greatly reflect
children’s internal motivations and emotions. Of note, both selfreported and peer-nominated shyness evidenced similar patterns
of associations with other study variables (with the magnitude of
the association appearing to be predominantly somewhat larger
for the self-report measure).
Our findings indicated that self-reported shyness was associated with a wide range of adjustment outcomes in Chinese elementary school children. Overall, consistent with recent studies
in Chinese culture (e.g., Chen et al., 2009; Liu et al., 2012), children
who reported high level of shyness were more likely to have psychological problems (e.g., loneliness, depression) and peer difficulties (e.g., peer rejection, victimization). Because of the rapid pace of
social and economic reform, traits that were once highly-emphasized in traditional culture (e.g., behavioral and emotional restrain)
appear to becoming increasingly maladaptive (Chen et al., 2005).
Shy children may no longer be adaptive and competitive in a more
market-oriented society, and might thus be viewed more negatively by peers, teachers, and parents.
4.2. Shyness, coping, and adjustment
Our results suggested that the use of emotion-focused coping
was associated with negative adjustment among Chinese children.
A similarly maladaptive function for this form of coping has been
previously demonstrated both in Western (e.g., Endler & Parker,
1990; Kingsbury et al., 2013) and Chinese samples (e.g.,
Auerbach et al., 2010; Li et al., 2010). Emotion-focused coping
involves the development of negative internal states such as worrying, self-pitying, and self-blaming (Causey & Dubow, 1992). This
repeated state of negative emotion may increase stress by highlighting the negative emotional component of an experience
(Endler & Parker, 1990).
Moreover, our results further suggest that shy children also
appear to lack adequate coping skills, as has been indicated in previous studies in Western cultures (e.g., Eisenberg et al., 1998;
Findlay et al., 2009). Shy children might be prone to emotionfocused coping due to their heightened reactivity in stressful social
situations (Kagan, 1997) and because such strategies require minimal assertiveness and draw little attention to the child (Burgess,
Wojslawowicz, Rubin, Rose-Krasnor, & Booth-LaForce, 2006).
It should be noted that the emotion-focused strategies examined in the present study also included items pertaining to anger
(Causey & Dubow, 1992). Umecka and Tucholska (2009) reported
that shy teenagers applied less effective methods of coping with
difficult situations as compared to their more sociable peers –
including aggression and self-aggression. Thus, some shy children
might also use hitting or yelling in response to stressful situations,
but future research is required to uncover the mechanism that
might underlie this association.
X. Ding et al. / Personality and Individual Differences 68 (2014) 183–188
Finally, our results suggest that emotion-focused coping style
partially mediated the associations between shyness and adjustment difficulties. These findings extend similar results in Western
children (Findlay et al., 2009; Kingsbury et al., 2013) to a broader
range of outcome measures, assessed by multiple sources, and in
a different cultural context. Although shy children may focus on
internal states to avoid stressors, rumination and other similar
negative thought patterns are associated with internalizing problems such as anxiety and depression (e.g., Wright, Banerjee,
Hoek, Rieffe, & Novin, 2010).
5. Conclusions
Results from the present study: (1) provided evidence of
the psychometric properties and validity of the CSQ in Chinese
children; (2) suggested that an emotion-focused coping
style may mediate links between shyness and adjustment in
Chinese children. Notwithstanding, our results should be
interpreted with some caveats and limitations. To begin, our
study was cross-sectional in nature and other underlying
explanations are also plausible. For instance, the indirect effects
linking shyness, coping style, and adjustment outcomes might
because the experience of negative adjustment makes shy
children less effective in stressful social situations. Future studies
with longitudinal designs are required to better elucidate these
associations. In addition, it should be noted that our study was
conducted in an urban area of China. Given the adaptive functioning of shyness was quite different in rural area of China (Chen
et al., 2009), future researchers should examine the coping style
of shy children in rural area. As well, the present study focused
on children’s self-reported use of emotion-focused coping style
in response to a specific social stressor. Future researchers should
examine coping across multiple domains. In particular, given the
heightened value based on academic performance in China
(Chang, Schwartz, Dodge, & McBride-Chang, 2003; Ho, 1986), it
would be of interest to explore the role of coping in response
to an academic stress (e.g., doing poorly on a test).
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China (31300855), the National Social Science Fund
of China (12BSH056) and the grants from the ‘Shu Guang’ program
of the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission and Shanghai
Education Development Foundation (#12SG38). We are grateful
to the children and teachers for their participation.
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