Sette, Stefania and Zuffianò, Antonio and Lopez-Perez, B. and Caprara, Gian Vittorio and McCagh, Jane and Coplan, R.J. (2021) Links between Child Shyness and Indices of Internalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Protective Role of Positivity. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 183 (2). ISSN 0022-1325 (Accepted for Publication)
Preview |
Text
Manuscript_JGP_R1 Submission.pdf - Accepted Version Download (802kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Shyness in childhood has been linked to socio-emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and loneliness. On the contrary, positivity (i.e., a personal tendency to see oneself, life, and future in a positive light) has been described as a protective factor. Given the challenges experienced by children during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., closure of school and confinement), we aimed to test the potential protective role of positivity and how it may link child shyness and indices of internalizing problems (i.e., anxiety, depression, loneliness) during the first wave of the pandemic. Participants were N = 236 children (Mage = 9.25 years, SD = 1.20) from Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom, the three worst-hit countries in Europe when the data were collected (April-June, 2020). Children completed online self-evaluation scales to assess temperamental shyness, positivity, and indices of internalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results from a multivariate regression analysis revealed significant interaction effects between shyness and positivity in the prediction of outcome variables. Follow-up simple slope analyses indicated that shyness was positively related to depression only among children with lower levels of positivity. The study highlights the role of children’s positivity in buffering the pernicious link between shyness and their negative feelings during the pandemic. The practical implications of these findings are discussed.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | shyness, positivity, internalizing problems, COVID-19 pandemic, children |
| Faculty / Department: | Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology |
| Depositing User: | Belen Lopez-Perez |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Jan 2022 12:36 |
| Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2023 14:31 |
| URI: | https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/3469 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Altmetric
Altmetric
