Abstract: Abstract: Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by fear and anxiety in the face of novel social situations and self-consciousness in situations of perceived social evaluation. Empirical findings in Western societies indicated that shy children were prone to peer relationship problems, including peer victimization and rejection, as well as psychological maladjustment, including loneliness, low self-esteem and symptoms of depression. However, studies of Chinese children have yielded inconsistent findings. For instance, Chen and his colleagues found that shyness was associated with peer acceptance and positive school adjustment in Chinese children. In contrast, Schwartz and his colleagues found that shy Chinese children were disliked and victimized at school. The inconsistence among these results can be explained by the difference in the periods that these studies were conducted. More and more evidences have proved that shyness was associated with psychological maladjustment in the current urban area of China. Gender plays an important role in the prevalence and the implications of shyness. Drawing upon developmental theory of the importance of peer relationships in childhood and gender role stereotype theory casting males as traditionally more dominant/assertive and females as more passive/submissive, we proposed a mediated moderation model that may explain differences in the potential implications of shyness for boys and girls, which assumed that the relations between shyness and psychological adjustment were moderated by gender and the effects of gender were transmitted through peer relationship problems. Participants were N=1485 children (751 boys, 734 girls, Mage=11.25, SD=22 months) recruited from grade 3-8 classrooms in four randomly selected public schools in Shanghai. Assessments of shyness, peer victimization, peer rejection and psychological adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including self-reports and peer nominations. Results indicated that: (1) there were significant gender difference on shyness, peer relationship problems and psychological adjustment. Girls had higher scores on shyness and self-esteem, but lower scores on peer relationship problems, loneliness and depression than did boys; (2) shyness was positively associated with peer relationship problems, loneliness and depression, but negatively associated with self-esteem; (3) the relations between shyness and psychological adjustment were moderated by gender. Shyness was more strongly associated with psychological maladjustment among boys as compared to girls; (4) the moderating effects of gender on shyness and psychological adjustment were mediated by peer relationship problems, the indirect effects made up 25% to 47% of the total effects. These results suggest that shy boys and girls are treated and responded to differently by peers, which leads to the gender differences in the outcomes of shyness. Gender plays an important role in the prevalence and the implications of shyness. Drawing upon developmental theory of the importance of peer relationships in childhood and gender role stereotype theory casting males as traditionally more dominant/assertive and females as more passive/submissive, we proposed a mediated moderation model that may explain differences in the potential implications of shyness for boys and girls, which assumed that the relations between shyness and psychological adjustment were moderated by gender and the effects of gender were transmitted through peer difficulties. Participants were N=1485 children (751 boys, 734 girls, Mage=11.25, SD=22 months) recruited from grade 3-8 classrooms in four randomly selected public schools in Shanghai. Assessments of shyness, peer victimization, peer rejection and psychological adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including self-reports and peer nominations. Results indicated that: (1) there were significant gender difference on shyness, peer difficulties and psychological adjustment. Girls had higher scores on shyness and self-esteem, but lower scores on peer difficulties, loneliness and depression than did boys; (2) shyness was positively associated with peer difficulties, loneliness and depression, but negatively associated with self-esteem; (3) the relations between shyness and psychological adjustment were moderated by gender. Shyness was more strongly associated with psychological maladjustment among boys as compared to girls; (4) the moderating effects of gender on shyness and psychological adjustment were mediated by peer difficulties, the indirect effects made up 25% to 47% of the total effects. These results suggest that shy boys and girls are treated and responded to differently by peers, which leads to the gender differences in the outcomes of shyness.

Key words: shyness, psychological adjustment, peer relationship problems, mediated moderation

摘要： 以1485名3-8年级学生为研究对象，借助同伴评价和自我报告，考察性别对羞怯和心理适应关系的调节效应以及同伴关系不良在上述调节效应中的中介作用。研究结果表明：（1）羞怯、同伴关系不良、孤独、抑郁和自尊的性别差异显著。女孩的羞怯水平显著高于男孩，而同伴关系不良、孤独、抑郁水平则显著低于男孩；（2）羞怯与同伴关系不良、孤独、抑郁呈较弱的正相关，而与自尊呈较弱的负相关；（3）羞怯与孤独、抑郁、自尊的关系受性别因素的调节，羞怯男孩面临的心理适应风险高于羞怯女孩；（4）性别对羞怯和孤独、抑郁、自尊关系的调节通过同伴关系不良这一中介因素而实现，间接效应占总效应的比例在25%至47%之间。这一结果表明，羞怯的适应价值存在性别差异，而同伴关系在其中扮演着重要的中介角色。

关键词: 羞怯, 心理适应, 同伴关系不良, 有中介的调节