中班幼儿社交回避与社会适应:母亲心理控制的调节作用

Social Avoidance and Social Adjustment among Young Children:The Moderating Role of Maternal Psychological Control

社交回避是社会退缩中最具适应风险的亚型,对儿童发展早期就表现出来的社交回避及其社会适应特征进行研究,有助于深化对儿童社会退缩的发展与适应机制的理解。本研究采用问卷调查法,以211名中班幼儿为被试,探讨社交回避与社会适应的关系,以及母亲心理控制在其中的调节作用。结果发现在控制了害羞和社交淡漠后,幼儿的社交回避显著正向预测其不合群行为;母亲心理控制在幼儿社交回避与社会适应之间具有调节作用。具体来说,当母亲心理控制水平较低时,社交回避不能预测幼儿的不合群行为、同伴排斥和焦虑恐惧;当母亲心理控制水平较高时,社交回避则能显著正向预测幼儿的不合群行为、同伴排斥和焦虑恐惧。这表明母亲高水平的心理控制是社交回避幼儿发展的风险性因子,即母亲心理控制会加剧社交回避幼儿的消极适应。为提升社交回避幼儿的社会适应,母亲应接纳和尊重幼儿,有意识地降低对幼儿的心理控制水平,并引导幼儿学习采用积极的应对策略。此外,让高心理控制的母亲接受有针对性的干预训练项目也是必要的。

Children who frequently remove themselves from the peer group(i.e.,socially withdrawn children)miss out on opportunities for social skill development and relationship-building,and are at increased risk for socio-emotional difficulties.Social avoidance is thought to reflect not only a lack of interest in peer engagement,but also the active circumvention of opportunities for social interaction.There has been a dearth of research on social avoidance.Thus the present study would examine the social adjustment of young children’s social avoidance,and the moderating effect of maternal psychological control in the relation between social avoidance and social adjustment.Participants were 211 children from middle class.The results indicated that,after controlling for shyness and unsociability,social avoidance was uniquely significantly and positively associated with asocial behavior.Maternal psychological control moderated the associations between social avoidance and asocial behavior,peer exclusion,and anxious-fearful behavior.Specifically,when the mother’s psychological control level is low,social avoidance is not related to asocial behavior,peer exclusion and anxious-fearful behavior.When the level of psychological control of the mother was high,social avoidance significantly and positively predicted asocial behavior,peer rejection,and anxious-fearful behavior.It could be concluded that high level of psychological control is a risk factor for the development of socially avoidant children.High level of maternal psychological control could exacerbate negative adaptation in socially disengaged children.The results are of great value for the intervention of socially avoidant children.In order to improve the social adjustment of socially avoidant children,mothers should adopt low level of psychological control,teach socially avoidant children to gain positive coping strategies,and accept and respect these children.