This special section is in honor of Dr. Kenneth H. Rubin and his unparalleled intellectual contribution to the study of the development and implications of social withdrawal. It also recognizes his almost 50 years of enthusiastic and devoted mentorship and international collaboration, which has stimulated numerous scholars around the world to investigate social withdrawal-related topics. The six contributions in this special section are written by scholars from diverse perspectives and backgrounds and include longitudinal datasets from four different countries. This introduction highlights the empirical contributions of these studies, characterized into three broad categories that have been central to Ken’s enormously influential work on social withdrawal: (1) peers as contributors to, and outcomes of, social withdrawal; (2) the consideration of the diverse contexts in which social withdrawal can occur; and (3) social withdrawal as a modifiable risk factor. Together, these studies extend knowledge about social withdrawal and its concomitants, set the stage for future research and intervention efforts, and honor the legacy of Dr. Kenneth H. Rubin.
BakaitytėA.KaniušonytėG.ŽukauskienėR.LaursenB. (2025). Friend loss exacerbates adjustment difficulties among shy children. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254251339400
2.
BianQ.ChenX.LiD.LiuJ.FuR.CuiL.LiuS. (2025). Self-reported shyness and social and school adjustment in Chinese children and adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254241312130
3.
ChenX.RubinK. H.LiB. (1995). Social and school adjustment of shy and aggressive children in China. Development and Psychopathology, 7(2), 337–349.
4.
ChenX.RubinK. H.SunY. (1992). Social reputation and peer relationships in Chinese and Canadian children: A cross-cultural study. Child Development, 63(6), 1336–1343. https://doi.org/10.2307/1131559
5.
Chronis-TuscanoA.NovickD. R.DankoC. M.SmithK.WagnerN. J.WangC. H.DruskinL.DoughertyL. R.RubinK. H. (2022). Early intervention for inhibited young children: A randomized controlled trial comparing the Turtle Program and Cool Little Kids. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 63(3), 273–281. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13475
6.
DankoC. M.O’BrienK. A.RubinK. H.Chronis-TuscanoA. (2018). The Turtle Program: PCIT for young children displaying behavioral inhibition. In NiecL. N. (Ed.), Handbook of parent child interaction therapy: Innovations and applications for research and practice (pp. 85–98). Springer.
7.
FoxN. A.HendersonH. A.RubinK. H.CalkinsS. D.SchmidtL. A. (2001). Continuity and discontinuity of behavioral inhibition and exuberance: Psychophysiological and behavioral influences across the first four years of life. Child Development, 72(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00262
8.
HaneA. A.CheahC. S. L.RubinK. H.FoxN. A. (2008). The role of maternal behavior in the relation between shyness and social withdrawal in early childhood and social withdrawal in middle childhood. Social Development, 17(4), 795–811. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9507.2008.00481.x
9.
KrasnorL. R.RubinK. H. (1983). Preschool social problem solving: Attempts and outcomes in naturalistic interaction. Child Development, 54, 1545–1558.
10.
MaltiT.RubinK. H. (2018). Handbook of child and adolescent aggression. Guilford Press.
11.
McVarnockA.ChengT.StoneA.DeGrootM.CoplanR. J. (2024). The development of social withdrawal research in childhood and adolescence over 70 years: A systematic scoping review. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 70(2), 189–217.
12.
ReillyE. B.DodgeK. A.BaiY.LansfordJ. E.BatesJ. E.PettitG. S. (2025). Subtypes of childhood social withdrawal and adult relationship and parenting outcomes. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254241287220
13.
RubinK. H. (1982). Non-social play in preschoolers: Necessarily evil?Child Development, 3(3), 651–657. https://doi.org/10.2307/1129376
14.
RubinK. H. (1998). Social and emotional development from a cross-cultural perspective. Developmental Psychology, 34, 611–615.
15.
RubinK. H. (2021). Social withdrawal in childhood: A personal history of theory and research that guided a program of developmental research. In CoplanR. J.BowkerJ. C.NelsonL. J. (Eds.), The handbook of solitude: Psychological perspectives on social isolation, social withdrawal, and being alone (2nd ed.; pp. 407–447). Wiley-Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119576457.ch29
16.
RubinK. H.BukowskiW. M.BowkerJ. C. (2015). Children in peer groups. In BornsteinM. H.LeventhalT.LernerR. M. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology and developmental science: Ecological settings and processes (pp. 175–222). John Wiley.
17.
RubinK. H.BukowskiW. M.ParkerJ. G. (2006). Peer interactions, relationships, and groups. In EisenbergN.DamonW.LernerR. M. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3, Social, emotional, and personality development (6th ed., pp. 571–645). John Wiley & Sons Inc.
18.
RubinK. H.BurgessK. B.HastingsP. D. (2002). Stability and social-behavioral consequences of toddlers’ inhibited temperament and parenting. Child Development, 73(2), 483–495. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00419
19.
RubinK. H.ChenX.HymelS. (1993). Socioemotional characteristics of withdrawn and aggressive children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 39, 518–534.
20.
RubinK. H.Chronis-TuscanoA. (2021). Perspectives on social withdrawal in childhood: Past, present, and prospects. Child Development Perspectives, 15(3), 160–167.
21.
RubinK. H.ChungO. B. (2013). Parenting beliefs, behaviors, and parent-child relations: A cross-cultural perspective. Psychology Press.
RubinK. H.Daniels-BeirnessT.BreamL. (1984). Social isolation and social problem solving: A longitudinal study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52(1), 17–25. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.52.1.17
24.
RubinK. H.LeMareL.LollisS. (1990). Social withdrawal in childhood: Developmental pathways to peer rejection. In AsherS.CoieJ. (Eds.), Peer rejection in childhood (pp. 217–249). Cambridge University Press.
25.
RubinK. H.MillsR. S. L. (1988). The many faces of social isolation in childhood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 56(6), 916–924. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.56.6.916
26.
RubinK. H.RootA. K.BowkerJ. (2010). Parents, peers, and social withdrawal in childhood: A relationship perspective. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2010(127), 79–94.
27.
RubinK. H.WojslawowiczJ. C.Rose-KrasnorL.Booth-LaForceC. L.BurgessK. B. (2006). The best friendships of shy/withdrawn children: Prevalence, stability, and relationship quality. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34(2), 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-005-9017-4
28.
SchmidtL. A.ChowC. C. T.ShinC.BrookC. A.Van LieshoutR. J.BuckleyN. (2025). Social withdrawal in real-world contexts: Children’s shyness, anxiety, and observed behavior in the surgical setting. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254241312138
29.
SchmidtL. A.FoxN. A.RubinK. H.HuS.HamerD. H. (2002). Molecular genetics of shyness and aggression in preschoolers. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(2), 227–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00147-7
30.
UgarteE.HastingsP. D. (2025). Caregiver unpredictability and the development of biobehavioral regulation during early childhood. International Journal of Behavioral Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/01650254251349755
31.
WagnerN. J.ShakibaN.BuiH. N. T.NovickD. R.SemK.DankoC. M.RubinK. H.Chronis-TuscanoA. (2025). Examining the role of vagal flexibility in children’s response to an early intervention randomized control trial for inhibited youth. International Journal of Behavioral Development.
