Withdrawn Kids Face Peer Rejection - research of social behavior of children - Brief Article

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), March, 2001

Six-year-old Billy Hawks enjoyed the same activities as most kids his age, but his mother was concerned because her son didn't have many friends. When he was at school, Billy would sit anxiously, watching other children play, but would never join them. In middle school, Billy's withdrawn behavior persisted, and his peers consistently made fun of him. They thought him incompetent and odd. Now, as an adult, Billy is emotionally distressed, is often distracted, and rarely speaks to others.

Results of a Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, study can help children like Billy at an early age. A team of researchers, headed by Craig H. Hart of the school's Family Studies Center, investigated "peer acceptance in early childhood and subtypes of socially withdrawn behavior in China, Russia, and the United States." Through their research, they made monumental discoveries concerning the implications and effects of childhood social withdrawal.

"This research is especially valuable because it enables parents and teachers to recognize the forms of childhood social withdrawal that are most detrimental to development," Hart maintains. "These findings decrease the chances of children's withdrawal going undetected and ultimately untreated."

The researchers found youngsters with reticent behavior--the subtype exhibited in Billy's case--are at a higher risk for social difficulties than other children are. In all three cultural contexts, those with reticence are regarded unfavorably and rejected by their peers. Kids who anxiously hover near peers, but do not associate with them, reflect internal conflict between a desire to approach peers and the fear of doing so. "This finding," Hart notes, "sends an alert to teachers and parents that they should be concerned about children who are reticent in familiar peer groups at an early age."

Previous research had grouped many forms of withdrawal into one category, making linkages in childhood adjustment patterns difficult to distinguish. The Brigham Young researchers were able to define reticent behavior clearly along with two other major social-withdrawn subtypes: solitary passive and solitary active.

Solitary passive withdrawal involves the "quiet exploration of objects and/or constructive activity." Examples include playing with blocks, toys, or puzzles by oneself, reflecting a disinterest in playing with peers. Solitary active withdrawal consists of dramatic play by oneself, such as pretending to be an airplane in the vicinity of peers, but not interacting with them. This behavior may be perceived by peers as being abnormal and disruptive.