The focus of this paper is social withdrawal in childhood. We begin with a brief description of two proposed models which trace the developmental origins of social withdrawal and isolation. We then present data from the Waterloo Longitudinal Project and discuss the identification, stability, correlates and consequences of social withdrawal in the childhood years. From these data, we conclude that social withdrawal is relatively stable in the early school years, and that it is associated with loneliness, depression and negative self-perceptions of competence in later childhood.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AchenbachT. M.EdelbrockC. S. (1981). «Behavioral problems and competencies reported by parents of normal and disturbed children aged four through sixteen».Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 46, (1, Serial No. 188), 1–82.
2.
AltmannE. O.GotlibI. H. (1988). «The social behavior of despressed children: An observational study».Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 16, 29–44.
3.
BelskyJ.RovineM. (1987). «Temperament and attachment security in the strange situation: An empirical rapprochment».Child Development, 58, 787–795.
4.
BronsonW. C. (1966). «Central orientations: A study of behavior organization from childhood to adolescence».Child Development, 37, 125–155.
5.
CoieJ. D.KupersmidtJ. R. (1983). «A behavioral analysis of emerging social status in boys' groups».Child Development, 54, 1400–1416.
6.
CongerJ. C.KeaneS. P. (1981). «Social skills intervention in the treatment of isolated or withdrawn children».Psychological Bulletin, 90, 478–495.
7.
DodgeK. A. (1983). «Behavioral antecedents of peer social status».Child Development, 54, 1386–1389.
8.
EgelandB.SroufeL. A. (1981). «Developmental sequelae of maltreatment in infants». InRizleyR.CicchettiD. (eds.), Developmental perspectives in child maltreatment.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
9.
EnsmingerM. C.KellamS. G.RubinB. R. (1983). «School and family origins of delinquency: Comparison by sex». InVan DusenK.T.MednickS.A. (eds.), Prospective studies of crime and delinquency, pp. 73–97. Hingham, MA: Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing.
10.
EricksonM. F.BaconM.EgelandB. (abril, 1987). Developmental antecedents and concomitants of depressive symptoms in preschool children. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development.
11.
FeldmanJ. F.CohenP. (april, 1987). Persistence of emotional and behavioral problems from preschool to preadolescence in a community sample. Paper presented at the Biennial Meeting of The Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, Maryland.
12.
FrenchD. (1988). «Heterogeneity of peer rejected boys: Aggressive and non-aggressive subtypes».Child Development, 59, 976–985.
13.
HarterS. (1982). «The perceived competence scale for children».Child Development, 53, 87–97.
14.
HarterS. (1983). «The self system». InHetheringtonE. M. (ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4, Socialization, personality, and social development.New York: Wiley.
15.
HartupW. W. (1983). «Peer relations». InHetheringtonE. M. (ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4, Socialization, personality, and social development, pp. 103–198. New York: Wiley.
16.
HuesmannL. R.EronL. D.LefkowitzM. M.WalderL. O. (1984). «Stability of aggression over time and generations».Developmental Psychology, 20, 1120–1134.
17.
HymelS.RubinK. H. (1985). «Children with peer relationships and social skills problems: Conceptual, methodological, and developmental issues». InWhitehurstG. J. (Ed.), Annuals of child development, Vol. 2, pp. 251–297. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
18.
JanesC. L.HesselbrockV. M. (1978). «Problem children's adult adjustment predicted from teachers' ratings».American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 48, 300–309.
19.
JanesC. L.HesselbrockV. M.MyersD. G.PennimanJ. H. (1979). «Problem boys in young adulthood: Teachers' rating and twelve-year follow-up».Journal of Young and Adolescence, 8, 453–472.
20.
JohnR. S.MednickS. A.SchulsingerF. (1982). «Teacher reports as a predictor of schizophrenia and borderline schizophrenia: A Bayesian decision analysis».Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 6, 399–413.
21.
KaganJ.MossH. A. (1962). Birth to maturity; a study in psychological development.New York: Wiley.
22.
KaganJ.ReznickS. J.SnidmanN. (1987). «The physiology and psychology of behavioral inhibition in children».Child Development, 58, 1459–1473.
23.
KohlbergL.LacrosseJ.RicksD. (1972). «The predictability of adult mental health from childhood behavior». InWolmanB. B. (ed.), Manual of child psychopathology, 1217–1284. New York: McGraw-Hill.
24.
LafrenièreP. J.ProvostM. A. (May, 1988). Concurrent associations between parent-child relations and internalizing behavior in the preschool. Paper presented at The Fifth Biennial University of Waterloo Conference on Child Development.
25.
LedinghamJ. E. (1981). «Developmental patterns of aggressive and withdrawn behavior in childhood: A possible method for identifying preschizophrenics».Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 10, 363–372.
26.
LondervilleS.MainM. (1981). «Security of attachment, compliance, and maternal training methods in the second year of life».Development Psychology, 17, 289–299.
27.
MastenA. S.MorisonP.PellegriniD. (1985). «A revised class play method of peer assessment».Developmental Psychology, 21, 523–533.
28.
MeadG. H. (1934). Mind, self, and society.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
29.
MichaelC. M.MorrisD. P.SorokerE. (1957). «Follow-up studies of shy, withdrawn children II: Relative incidence of schizophrenia».American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 27, 331–337.
30.
MollerL. C.RubinK. H. (1988). «A psychometric assessment of a two-factor solution for the Preschool Behavior Questionnaire in mid-childhood».Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.
31.
MorrisD. P.SorokerE.BurrussG. (1954). «Follow-up studies of shy, withdrawn, children I: Evaluation of later adjustment».American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 24, 743–754.
32.
MoskowitzD. S.SchwartzmanA. E.LedinghamJ. E. (1985). «Stability and change in aggression and withdrawal in middle chilhood and early adolescence».Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 94, 30–41.
33.
OlweusD. (1981). «Child-to-child violence: Bullying among school-boys». InCantwellN. (ed.), Children and violence, pp. 97–131. Stockholm: Akademilitteratur.
34.
OlweusD. (1979). «Stability of aggressive reaction patterns in males: A review.Psychological Bulletin, 86, 852–875.
35.
ParkerJ. G.AsherS. R. (1987). «Peer relations and later personal adjustment: Are low-accepted children at risk?».Psychological Bulletin, 102, 357–389.
36.
PiagetJ. (1926). The language and thought of the child.Londres: Routlege and Kegan Paul.
37.
QuayH. C.LagrecaA. M. (1986). «Disorders of anxiety, withdrawal, and dysphoria». InQuayH. C.WerryJ. S. (eds.), Psychopathological disorders of childhood, pp. 73–110. Nueva York: Wiley.
38.
RobinsL. N. (1966). Deviant children grown up.Baltimore, MD: Williams y Wilkins.
39.
RobinsL. N. (1972). «Follow-up studies of behavior disorders in children». InQuayH. C.WerryJ. S. (eds.), Psychopathological disorders of childhood, pp. 415–450. Nueva York: Wiley.
40.
RubinK. H. (1982a). «Social and social-cognitive developmental characteristic of young isolate, normal and sociable children». InRubinK. H.RossH. S. (eds.), Peer relationships and social skills in childhood.Nueva York: Springer-Verlag.
41.
RubinK. H. (1982b). «Non-social play in preschoolers. Necessarily evil?».Child Development, 53, 651–657.
42.
RubinK. H. (1985). «Socially withdrawn children: An “at-risk” population?». InSchneiderB.RubinK. H.LedinghamJ. (eds.), Peer relationships and social skills in childhod: Issues in assessment and training.Nueva York: Springer-Verlag.
43.
RubinK. H.BorwickD. (1984). «The communication skills of children who vary with regard to sociability». InSypherH.ApplegateJ. (eds.), Social cognition and communication.Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum.
44.
RubinK. H.BreamL.Rose-KrasnorL.(in press). «Social problem solving and aggression in childhood». InPeplerD. J.RubinK. H. (eds.), The development and treatment of chilhood aggression.Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
45.
RubinK. H.CohenJ. S. (1986). «The Revised Class Play: Correlates of peer assessed social behavior in middle childhood». InPrinzR.J. (eds.), Advances in Behavioral Assessment of Children and Families, Vol. 2, pp. 179–206. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press.
46.
RubinK. H.Daniels-BeirnessT. (1983). «Concurrent and predictive correlates of socio-metric status in Kindergarten and Grade 1 children».Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 29, 337–351.
47.
RubinK. H.Daniels-BeirnessT.BreamL. (1984). «Social isolation and social problem solving: A longitudinal study.Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 17–25.
48.
RubinK. H.HymelS. (april, 1987). Predicting depression in childhood: A longitudinal investigation. Presented at the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, Maryland.
49.
RubinK. H.HymelS.LemareL. J.RowdenL. (1989). «Children experiencing social difficulties: Sociometric neglect reconsidered».Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sríence, 21, 94–111.
50.
RubinK. H.HymelS.MillsR. S. L. (1989). «Sociability and social withdrawal in childhood: Stability and outcomes»Journal of Personality, 57, 237–255.
51.
RubinK. H.HymelS.MillsR. S. L.Rose-KrasnorL.(in press). «Conceptualizing different developmental pathways to and from social isolation in childhood». InCicchettiD. (ed.), Rochester Symposium on Developmental Psychopathology, Vol. 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
52.
RubinK. H.KrasnorL. R. (1986). «Social cognitive and social behavior perspective on problem-solving». InPerlmutterM. (ed.), Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology, Vol. 18. Hillsdale, N.J: Erlbaum.
53.
RubinK. H.LollisS. (1988). «Origins and consequences of social withdrawal». InBelskyJ. (ed.), Clinical implications of infant attachment, pp. 219–252. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
54.
RubinK. H.MillsR. S. L. (1988). «The many faces of social isolation in childhood».Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56, 916–924.
55.
RubinK. H.MollerL. C.EmptageA. (1987). «The Preschool Behavior Questionnaire: A useful index of behavior problems in elementary school-age children?».Canadian Journal of Behavioural Sciences, 19, 86–100.
56.
SroufeL. A. (1983). «Infant-caregiver attachment and patterns of adaptation in preschool: Roots of maladaption and competence». InPerlmutterM. (ed.), Minnesota symposia on child psychology, Vol. 16. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum.
57.
SullivanH. S. (1953). The interpersonal theory of psychiatry.New York: Norton, 1321–1334.
58.
TroyM.SroufeL. A. (1987). «Victimization among preschoolers: Role of attachment relationship history».Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Pychiatry, 26, 166–172.
59.
YoungerA. J.BoykoK. A.(in press). «Aggression and withdrawal as social schémas underlying children's peer perceptions».Chud Development.
60.
YoungerA. J.SchwartzmanA. E.LedinghamJ. (1986). «Age-related differences in children's perceptions of social deviance: Changes in behavior or perspective?».Developmental Psychology, 22, 531–542.
