SHY GIRLS AND BOYS - A NEW LOOK

A new look at shyness in young children involves selecting for shyness , using criteria involving both natural and laboratory contexts, categ orizing children (including a group between the two extremes), and inc luding the sex of the child in analyses. Children of both sexes differ ed significantly across low, medium, and high shy groups, with negativ e mood, worries and fears, and problem behaviour in preschool being as sociated with high shyness. Although boys in general and high shy boys in particular had the highest problem behaviour scores in preschool ( including acting out behaviour), maternal interactions with high shy b oys were positive: significantly more positive than with boys who were high shy in natural settings but low shy in the laboratory, or with h igh shy girls. Of the girls, maternal style was most positive for the medium shy girls, who also received the highest relative frequency of positive maternal actions during a brief task-significantly higher tha n medium shy boys, as well as high shy girls.