Co-occurrence of and cross-informant agreement on shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance during early adolescence

Natalie D. Eggum-Wilkens, Danming An, Linlin Zhang, Megan Costa

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

We investigated the co-occurrence of and cross-informant agreement on early adolescents’ shyness, unsociability, and avoidance measured by self- and peer reports for fifth to eighth graders (N = 383; 51% male) in the United States. Avoidance was significantly and positively associated with shyness and unsociability based on peer reports and self-reports. Furthermore, 45% and 30% of peer- and self-reported withdrawn adolescents had multiple motivations for withdrawal, suggesting prevalent co-occurrence of withdrawal subtypes. Cross-informant agreement was moderate for shyness and weak for unsociability and avoidance. We draw attention to the complexity of motivations underlying withdrawal, theorize about subtype co-occurrence, and discuss challenges and opportunities related to peer-reported unsociability and avoidance.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)73-88
Number of pages16
JournalSocial Development
Volume29
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1 2020

Keywords

  • avoidance
  • measurement
  • shyness
  • social withdrawal
  • unsociability

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Sociology and Political Science
  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

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