Developmental Trajectories of Unsociability and Academic Achievement in Children: Based on Parallel Latent Growth Modeling

Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4) : 858-865.

PDF(571 KB)
PDF(571 KB)
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4) : 858-865.

Developmental Trajectories of Unsociability and Academic Achievement in Children: Based on Parallel Latent Growth Modeling

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Abstract

Social withdrawal is referred to the process in which individuals remove themselves from opportunities for social interactions, inhibit their participation in peer interactions, and frequently display solitary behaviors in social contexts (Rubin, Coplan, & Bowker, 2009), which is a common phenomenon in childhood and adolescence and becomes one of the research points in the field of children's social development. As one main dimension of social withdrawal, unsociability is characterized as the combination of low social approach motivation and low social avoidance motivation (Coplan et al., 2015). Although unsociable children may not be strongly averse to peer interaction, they are likely to engage in solitary activities (Coplan &Armer, 2007). Some studies showed the cultural difference of unsociability. Specifically, in western societies, unsociability is viewed as an expression of a personal choice or a self-oriented action (Coplan & Armer 2007). But Chinese society emphasizes collectivism and group affiliation (Greenfield, Suzuki, & Rothstein-Fisch, 2006), unsociability can be regarded as maladaptive in China (Chen, 2010), which may lead to different internalizing problems or peer difficulties (Chen, Wang, & Cao, 2011; Ding, Weeks, Liu, Sang, & Zhou, 2015; Ding et al., 2020; Sang et al., 2018). Also, in China, academic achievement is an important factor particularly valued in traditional Chinese culture and represented self-esteem (Liu, Bullock, & Coplan, 2014). Given the importance of academic performance in Chinese schools, children’s academic achievement may be the protective factor of children’s unsociability. Based on the existing studies examining the relation between unsociability and academic achievement with two-time points, there is a lack of discussion on the developmental trajectories of unsociability and academic achievement in children, which is important to explore through the parallel latent growth modeling with three-time points. The main purpose is to investigate the unsociability and academic achievement of children in the context of Chinese culture and the development of their interaction patterns. Research on this issue will provide us with a better understanding of the relation between unsociability and academic achievement.

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unsociability / academic achievement / developmental trajectories / latent growth modeling

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Developmental Trajectories of Unsociability and Academic Achievement in Children: Based on Parallel Latent Growth Modeling[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2021, 44(4): 858-865
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