PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Anxiety interferes with some children's capacity to form friendships

2011-08-31
(Press-News.org) As children move toward adolescence, they rely increasingly on close relationships with peers. Socially withdrawn children, who have less contact with peers, may miss out on the support that friendships provide. In a new study about the peer relationships of almost 2,500 fifth graders who are socially withdrawn in different ways and those who aren't withdrawn, researchers have found that withdrawn children who can be described as "anxious-solitary" differ considerably in their relationships with peers, compared to other withdrawn children and children who aren't withdrawn.

The study was conducted by researchers at Arizona State University as part of the Pathways Project, a larger longitudinal investigation of children's social, psychological, and scholastic adjustment in school that is supported by the National Institutes of Health. It appears in the journal Child Development.

Socially withdrawn children who are classified as anxious-solitary are believed to experience competing motivations—they want to interact with peers, but the prospect of doing so causes anxiety that interferes with such interactions. In contrast, unsociable children are seen as having what's called low approach and low avoidance motives—that is, they have little desire to interact with peers but aren't repelled by the prospect of doing so; for these children, the overtures of peers don't make them feel anxious.

To learn more about students' classroom behavior, emotions, and relations with peers, researchers collected students' reports in which they nominated or rated their peers on a number of criteria (such as withdrawn behavior, aggressive behavior, prosocial behavior, and emotional sensitivity); teachers also reported on the same criteria. Reports were collected toward the beginning of the academic year and then again toward the end of the academic year. Using these reports, researchers classified students as anxious-solitary withdrawn, unsociable withdrawn, or non-withdrawn.

Compared with unsociable withdrawn youths and those who aren't withdrawn, anxious-solitary children were found to be more emotionally sensitive and more likely to be excluded and victimized by their peers. They're also less likely to have friends, and when they do have friends, to have fewer than their peers and to lose friendships over time.

The researchers suggest that peer interaction is harder for anxious-solitary children because their anxiety interferes with their ability to form and maintain friendships. In contrast, unsociable youths tend to have more friends and to maintain those ties over time.

The study also found that having stable friendships protects children from being victimized by peers—and that both withdrawn and non-withdrawn children benefit from friendships in this way.

"Understanding withdrawn children's friendships is important because they have fewer contacts with children their own age," according to Gary Ladd, Cowden Distinguished Professor of Family and Human Development at Arizona State University, who led the study. "Because the consequences of peer isolation can be severe, it may be particularly important for withdrawn youth to develop and participate in friendships through organized sports, play dates, and other such activities."

INFORMATION:

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study of childhood bullying shifts focus to victims

Study of childhood bullying shifts focus to victims
2011-08-31
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Many wonder why bullies bully, but a new study looks at the other side of the equation: How do children respond to bullying and why? The answer, researchers say, may lead to more effective interventions to reduce the negative consequences – and perhaps even the frequency – of bullying. The study appears in the journal Child Development. "The main question we were interested in is how do children go about selecting strategies for dealing with harassment from their peers?" said University of Illinois psychology professor Karen Rudolph, who led the study. ...

New Section Makes Browsing for Cheap Cruises Easy at Cruise1st

2011-08-31
Cruise1st has added a new Cruise Destinations section to its site, dedicated to providing customers with essential information on the cheap cruises which are available. With the motto Second to None, Cruise1st offers its customer's luxury cruises at affordable prices. Offering cheap cruises deals to some of the most sought after destinations on the globe, Cruise1st specialises in luxurious packages. Cruise1st claims there is no better way to see the world than on a cruise with the chance to wake up in a new location every day. With the wide array of cruise liners ...

Aurora Gallery to Host New Hector "Nicer" Nazario Series: "Like a Child at Play"

2011-08-31
Opening September 15th, The Aurora Gallery is proud to host an all-new series from renowned New York City graffiti artist and muralist Hector "Nicer" Nazario. The series, entitled Like a Child at Play, began taking shape after the tragic death of Nicer's only child by a stray bullet in the Bronx in July 2010. Each piece in Like a Child at Play features painted works interpreting Nicer's childhood memories of growing up in New York. This event is free to enter. All works are available for purchase. "In many ways putting together this series of paintings ...

Youths' social goals help determine response to bullying

2011-08-31
Second and third graders who are bullied react in a variety of ways—from discussing the problem or striking back to seeking emotional support. A new study in the journal Child Development has found that the types of goals children set in their relationships help determine how they respond to being bullied—and whether they choose responses that are effective. The study was conducted by researchers at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. "Bullying has become a significant focus of media attention and public health concern," according to Karen D. Rudolph, professor ...

Ability to remember memories' origin not fully developed in youths

2011-08-31
During childhood and adolescence, children develop the ability to remember not only past events but the origin of those memories. For example, someone may remember meeting a particular person and the context in which he or she met that person. New research from Germany has found that the ability to remember the origin of memories is a relatively long process that matures during adolescence but isn't fully developed until adulthood. The study, by researchers at Saarland University, appears in the journal Child Development. Its findings have implications for the legal arena ...

Secure attachment to moms helps irritable babies interact with others

2011-08-31
Children with difficult temperaments are often the most affected by the quality of their relationships with their caregivers. New research suggests that highly irritable children who have secure attachments to their mothers are more likely to get along well with others than those who aren't securely attached. These findings, from researchers at the University of Maryland, are published in the journal Child Development. Researchers followed 84 infants from birth to age 2. About a third were characterized as highly irritable, while two-thirds were characterized as moderately ...

Mother-son ties change over time, influence teen boys' behavior

2011-08-31
Relationships between mothers and their sons change during childhood and adolescence. However, not all relationships change in the same way, and how the relationships change may affect boys' behavior when they become teens. Those are the findings of a new longitudinal study of low-income families by researchers at Wayne State University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Montreal, and the University of Oregon. The study appears in the journal Child Development. The researchers looked at 265 mother-son pairs from low-income families ...

Pardee Homes Offers Reduced Prices at Highlands Village; New Carmel Valley Townhomes From the Mid-$400,000s

Pardee Homes Offers Reduced Prices at Highlands Village; New Carmel Valley Townhomes From the Mid-$400,000s
2011-08-31
Pardee Homes has announced that they have reduced prices on move-in ready townhomes at Highlands Village at Carmel Country Highlands. The builder is offering this special for a limited time on their popular Plan 1 and Plan 1X models, and will also include $10,000 towards HOA dues or closing costs. "This is great time to buy and an exceptional opportunity to live the Carmel Valley lifestyle without the typical Carmel Valley price," said Rachel Collins, director of sales for Pardee Homes. "Coastal-close Highlands Village offers affordability, location, lifestyle ...

Simple blood test at high street opticians could help to diagnose diabetes

2011-08-31
A simple finger prick test during routine eye examinations at high street opticians could help to identify millions of people with previously undiagnosed Type 2 diabetes, according to new research. The researchers suggest earlier diagnosis could set people on the road to better management of the disease, which is the leading cause of blindness in the working age population, and that this could ultimately result in cost-savings for the NHS. The Durham University study suggests that screening for the condition in unconventional settings, such as opticians, chiropodists ...

Ghostwriting remains a fundamental problem in the medical literature

2011-08-31
An editorial this week in PLoS Medicine concludes that in the two years since extensive ghostwriting by pharmaceutical giant Wyeth to promote its hormone drug Prempro was exposed through litigation intervention by PLoS Medicine and The New York Times, medical ghostwriting remains a prevalent problem with few concrete solutions in sight. This week also sees the launch of the PLoS Ghostwriting Collection, which documents everything published across the PLoS journals on the topic. Among these are three new articles published earlier this month in PLoS Medicine that provide ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Weak evidence behind how we measure pain in babies

Novel breath test shows promise for diagnosing and monitoring bacterial infections

AI-guided lung ultrasound marks a major breakthrough in tuberculosis diagnosis

Towards hand gesture recognition using a channel-wise cumulative spike train image-driven model

Parasitic infection and treatment linked to cancer-related gene activity in the cervix

Over 3 million children died from AMR-related infections in 2022, major study shows

Study estimates proportion of adolescents living with overweight and obesity in England has increased by 50% between 2008 and 2023

Welcome to the First International Conference on Cyborg and Bionic Systems

Breakthrough study identifies promising biomarker for early sepsis detection in neonates, children, and pregnant women

3-year study of tirzepatide shows that most patients only gain 5% or less from their lowest or ‘nadir’ weight

Tirzepatide can produce clinically meaningful weight loss for at least 3 years in adults with overweight or obesity who don’t have diabetes

Common respiratory condition nearly triples the risk of death in adults, new study finds

New research shows evidence of children’s gender biases reflected in their facial emotional expressions

Crustal brines at an oceanic transform fault

The Journal of Nuclear Medicine Ahead-of-Print Tip Sheet: April 11, 2025

A fluid battery that can take any shape

Light that spirals like a nautilus shell

Transforming doors into gateways to the virtual world: the future of mixed reality!

AACR announces recipients of the 2025 AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism

Human-AI relationships pose ethical issues, psychologists say

Abortion rates remain relatively stable in Canada, while rates spike in UK, Europe, and US

Hundred-year storm tides will occur every few decades in Bangladesh, scientists report

Kidney function following COVID-19 in children and adolescents

Risk factors for severe disease among children hospitalized with RSV

Watch a live catalytic event in real time

Top medical research expert Mark T. Esser named inaugural head of UVA’s Manning Institute

Protein GSK3β offers new angle on overcoming melanoma drug resistance

Mimickers and associated neoplasms of Castleman disease

Preserving and using the deep sea: scientists call for more knowledge to enable sustainable management

Breaking the cycle: unveiling how childhood trauma fuels parenting and abuse

[Press-News.org] Anxiety interferes with some children's capacity to form friendships