Children with anxiety have difficulty with friendship

Children with anxiety have difficulty with friendship

By Catherine Walker

Children who are socially withdrawn  want to interact with their peers but are afraid to according to a new study.  The study looked at how the ‘shyness’ affects their emotional stability.

Experts believe that as children reach adolescence, they rely on close relationships with their peers.   Socially withdrawn children have less contact with their peers which can mean that they miss out on the support that friendship provides.

In the new study peer relationships of almost 2,500 fifth grade children who are socially withdrawn in different ways and those who are not withdrawn, were put into different groups.

The researchers found that withdrawn children, who they describe as ‘anxious-solitary’, differ considerably in their relationships with peers compared to other withdrawn children and children who are not withdrawn.

A report of this study appears in the journal Child Development.  It was conducted by researchers at Arizona State University as part of the Pathways Project.  The Pathways Project is a longitudinal investigation of children’s psychological, social and scholastic adjustment in school.

Socially withdrawn children who are classified as ‘anxious-solitary’ are believed to experience competing motivations.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 this.

Unsociable children are quite different.  These children are seen as having what is called low approach and low avoidance motives.  They have little desire to interact with peers but are not repelled by the prospect.  For these children the prospect of interaction with their peers does not make them feel anxious.

In this study the researchers classified students as anxious-solitary, unsociable-withdrawn, withdrawn or non-withdrawn.  The classification was based on the students’ reports in which they nominated or rated their peers on a number of criteria – such as withdrawn behaviour, aggressive behaviour, pro-social behaviour and emotional sensitivity.  Teachers also reported on the same criteria.

Anxious-solitary children were found to be more emotionally sensitive and more likely to be excluded and victimised by their peers compared with unsociable withdrawn youths and those who are not withdrawn.

They are also less likely to have friends and, when they do have friends, to have fewer than their peers and to lose friendships over time.

Anxious-solitary children have a difficult time in forming and maintaining friendships which is primarily due to their anxiety, researchers believe.

Unsociable youths, in contrast, tend to have more friends and to maintain those friendships over time.

The researchers claim that the study suggests that having stable friendships protects children from being victimised by peers and that both withdrawn and non-withdrawn children benefit from friendships in this regard.  

‘Understanding withdrawn children’s friendships is important because they have fewer contacts with children their own age,’ said Dr. Gary Ladd 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 organised sports, play dates and other such activities,’ Dr. Ladd concluded.

 Source: Society for Research in Child Development 

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