Social Competence and Adjustment in Chinese and North American Children: A Contextual-Developmental Perspective Xinyin Chen University of Western Ontario

Some Theoretical Issues Social competence The ability to act effectively and appropriately in social situations in order to achieve personal or group success e.g., acquiring a toy from another child Culture and social competence - The judgment of “appropriateness” based on cultural norms and values e.g., affect expression in parent-child interactions - The general neglect of “meanings” of socio-emotional functioning in cross-cultural research

The contextual-developmental perspective - The meaning of socio-emotional functioning in social interactions Social evaluations and responses as a indicator and mediator of cultural influence on human development - The meaning of socio-emotional functioning in development Developmental processes and patterns (e.g., antecedents, concomitants and outcomes)

Shyness-inhibition The Western literature (e.g., Asendorpf, 1990; Coplan et al., 2004) - indicating social immaturity and incompetence - concurrent and long-term correlates Shyness-inhibition in traditional Chinese culture Shyness-inhibition vs. social disinterest

Early Behavioral Characteristics and Socialization I: Behavioral Inhibition Participants 238 children in China, 108 children in Canada, aged 2 years Procedure - Behavioral inhibition paradigm - Maternal childrearing attitudes (Block, 1981) Acceptance, Rejection, Punishment orientation, etc.

Inhibition Scores ** ***

Percentage of Children who Contacted Mother or Did not Approach Stranger ***

Samples: China: N = 200 (50 shy-inhibited, 100 non-shy, based on POS) Canada: N = 180 (45 shy-inhibited, 90 non-shy) Age = 4 yrs Laboratory observations: Same-sex quartets, 2 x 15 min. free play sessions Interaction Strategy Coding: Initiations: nonverbal passive, active low-power, active high-power Responses: positive responses, information exchange, rejection Social Experiences of Shy-inhibited Children in Peer Interactions in China and Canada

Participants: About 500 children from age 8 and 10 years, assessed every 2 years Peer Assessments (RCP, Masten et al., 1985): Shyness-Sensitivity, etc. Teacher Ratings (TCRS, Hightower et al., 1986) Sociometric Nominations School Records Self-Reports The “Shanghai Longitudinal Project”

Table 1. Concurrent Correlations between Shyness and Adjustment in Childhood _______________________________________________________ Shyness ChinaCanada _______________________________________________________ Peer acceptance.27*** -.21*** Peer rejection Teacher rated competence.17*** -.30*** Loneliness *** Leadership.29*** Distinguished studentship.29*** Academic achievement.12** _______________________________________________________ Note. N = 612 and 304 in Chinese and Canadian samples respectively.

Table 2. Predictive Relations between Childhood Shyness (8-10 years) and Adolescent Adjustment (12-14 years) in China _____________________________________________________ Adolescent variablesChildhood Shyness _____________________________________________________ Peer acceptance.29** /-.04 Peer rejection.11 Teacher-rated competence.31*** Leadership.25*** Distinguished studentship.31*** Academic achievement.20** Depression-.01 _____________________________________________________ N = 162. Correlations for boys and girls are presented before and after the slash when significant sex differences were found in regressions. * p<.05 ** p<.01 *** p<.001

The massive economic reform and social change in China over the last two decades The social ecological perspectives on human development (Bronfenbrenner, 1979; Elder, 1996 Silbereisen, 2000) Social Functioning and Adjustment in Chinese children: The Imprint of Social Change

Participants: Three cohorts (1990, 1998, 2002) of elementary school children in Shanghai, China N = 429, 390 and 266; M age =10 years Family income (monthly income/ person): 1990: 161 yuan (SD = 243) 1998: 816 yuan (SD = 587) 2002: 1431 yuan (SD = 1836) $1 US = approx. 5.2 yuan in 1990, and 8.3 yuan in 1998 and 2002

Table 3. Effects of Shyness in Predicting Adjustment Variables in Three Cohorts of Children in urban China _________________________________________________________________ Adjustment variable X 2 (df=2) _________________________________________________________________ Peer acceptance.17**.14* -.15*13.56*** Peer rejection.05.35***.34***14.34*** Teacher-rated comp..20*** ***25.88*** Leadership.23***.11* *** Academic achievement.18*** ** Depression **11.38** ______________________________________________________ Note. The effect of sex was controlled in the analyses. n = 429, 390 and 266 for 1990, 1998 and 2002 cohorts, respectively. *= p <.05 ** = p <.01 *** = p <.001

Table 4. Effects of Shyness in Predicting Adjustment Variables in Rural Children in China _____________________________________________________ Adjustment variables Shyness _____________________________________________________ Peer acceptance.30*** Peer rejection.21*** Teacher-rated competence.17*** Leadership.12** Academic achievement.18*** Depression-.02 _____________________________________________________ Note. The effect of sex and grade was controlled in the analyses. N = 536. * p<.05 ** p<.01 *** p<.001

Conclusions -The findings from our projects indicate that the changing social and cultural context may be involved in the process in which specific socioemotional characteristics or behaviors (e.g., shyness-inhibition) are perceived, evaluated and responded to by adults and children. -Social evaluations and responses, in turn, may serve as an important mediator of contextual influence on individual behavior and development. As a result, the developmental patterns and processes of socioemotional functioning may vary across cultures and over historical time.

Changing social and cultural context socialization beliefs and practices Social interpretations, evaluations, responses Child socio-emotional characteristics e.g., social sensitivity, receptiveness Social functioning, psycho-emotional adjustment e.g., depression Parent-child, peer relationships, groups Child early disposition, biological influences e.g., shyness-inhibition Origins Developmental Outcomes Processes Dynamic processes Figure 2. A Contextual- Developmental Process Model (Chen, in press)