Relations between shyness and psychological adjustment in Chinese children: The role of friendship quality

The goal of this study is to examine the role of friendship quality in the links between shyness and children's psychological adjustment, and the potential moderating role of gender. Participants were N = 787 children in Grades 4–8 (M_age = 12.69 years, SD = 1.54) in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. They completed peer nomination items assessing shyness, and self-report measures on friendship quality and the psychological outcome measures of loneliness, self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Moderated-mediation analyses revealed that shyness was associated positively while friendship quality was correlated negatively with psychological maladjustment, and that friendship quality mediated the associations between shyness and the outcomes. These mediation effects, however, were moderated by gender, such that friendship quality was a significant mediator for boys, but not for girls. Taken together, the findings highlight the oftentimes overlooked importance of friends in the lives of shy children. Highlights: The study evaluated a model linking shyness, gender and psychological adjustment in Chinese children. Assessments of shyness, friendship quality and psychological adjustment were obtained from multiple sources, including peer nominations and self-reports. Friendship quality mediated the associations between shyness and the outcomes in boys, but not in girls.