Temperamental Contributions to the Development of Social Behavior

气质对社会行为发展的贡献

• 批准号: 9514612
• 负责人: Nathan Fox
• 金额: $ 15.39万
• 依托单位: University of Maryland, College Park
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-09-01 至 2001-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9514612&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Temperamental; Contributions; Development; Social; Behavior

The goal of this project is to examine the social skills, self-perceptions, and social relationships of 11-year-old children who, at earlier ages, had been identified as extremely wary and socially inhibited. In our longitudinal program of research we have found that the pattern of brain electrical activity (EEG), recorded over the anterior frontal lobes, represents a marker of individual differences in the tendency to express and modulate positive and negative emotions. Thus, infants and toddlers who exhibit wariness and behavioral inhibition during the first two years of life, and who display greater negative right frontal EEG activation are more likely to be socially reticent during preschool peer interaction. Furthermore, 4 year social reticence predicts social withdrawal in the peer group at age 7 years. We posit that socially withdrawn 7-year-old children, especially those who display greater relative right frontal asymmetry, will be rejected by peers in later childhood. Moreover, we hypothesize that the friendships of these children, at age 11 years, will be qualitatively inferior and more fragile than those of their non-withdrawn counterparts. And finally, we postulate that physiologically assessed wariness, in combination with impoverished social skills and peer relationships, will predict negative self perceptions of social competence and peer relationships, as well as internalizing problems in early adolescence (11 years). These hypotheses will be examined by bringing the participants in our longitudinal project to the laboratory for three visits at 11 years of age. Session 1 will consist of same-sex quartets, much like the ones in which the children participated at ages 4 and 7 years. Session 2 will consist of a friendship dyad interaction in which the target child will be observed interacting with his/her best friend. Also in Session 2, both the focal child and his/her best friend will participate in a same-sex quartet with two additional unfamiliar children. Session 3 will allow collection of psychophysiological data. As a result of these three sessions, we will be able to describe the friendship and social interactive patterns of both reticent and non-reticent children. We will also be able to characterize the processes through which competent peer interaction develops. %%% The goal of this project is to examine the social skills, social relationships, and self-perceptions of 11-year-old children who, at earlier ages, had been identified as extremely wary and socially inhibited. Earlier research has suggested that adolescent and adult depression, anxiety, and other problems of an `internalizing` nature may be predicted from negative self appraisals and withdrawal from the peer group during childhood. The developmental precursors of negative self appraisals and social withdrawal, however, are by-and-large unknown. In our longitudinal program of research we have found that infants and toddlers who display greater negative right frontal EEG activation tend to be wary and behaviorally inhibited during the first two years of life. This constellation of psychophysiology and behavior predicts extremely wary, socially reticent behavior during preschool peer interaction. And, 4 year social reticence, combined with negative right frontal EEG activation, predicts social withdrawal from the peer group at age 7 years. In the present study, we are predicting that socially withdrawn 7-year-old children, especially those who display greater relative right frontal asymmetry, will, at 11 years, be rejected when they attempt to initiate interactions with their peers. We hypothesize also that the friendships of these children, at age 11 years, will be qualitatively inferior and more fragile than those of their non-withdrawn counterparts. And finally, we posit that physiologically assessed wariness, in combination with impoverished social skills and peer relationships, will predict negative self perceptions of social competence and peer relationships, as well as internalizing problems in early adolescence (11 years). These hypotheses will be examined by bringing the participants in our longitudinal project to the laboratory for three visits at 11 years of age. In these sessions, we will assess the quality of the children's peer relationships, with a special emphasis on the quality and strength/fragility of their relationships with their best friends. We will also assess the children's self-expressed perceptions of their social skills and social relationships, as well as their feelings of anxiety, social wariness, and depression. Finally, we will continue to collect EEG data, given the purported significance of right frontal asymmetries in the prediction of internalizing disorders in childhood and adolescence. As a result of this study, we will be able to document some of the early origins, and some of the early adolescent concomitants of negative thoughts and feelings about the self, social wariness, and other problems of an internalizing nature.

该项目的目标是检查 11 岁儿童的社交技能、自我认知和社会关系，这些儿童在早期被认为极度警惕和社交抑制。 在我们的纵向研究计划中，我们发现前额叶记录的脑电活动（EEG）模式代表了表达和调节积极和消极情绪倾向的个体差异的标志。 因此，在生命的头两年表现出警惕性和行为抑制的婴儿和幼儿，以及表现出更大的右额叶脑电图负激活的婴儿和幼儿在学前同伴互动期间更有可能在社交上沉默寡言。 此外，4 年的社交沉默预示着同龄人 7 岁时的社交退缩。 我们假设，社交孤僻的 7 岁儿童，尤其是那些右额叶相对不对称程度较大的儿童，在童年后期会被同龄人拒绝。 此外，我们假设这些孩子在 11 岁时的友谊在质量上会比那些不孤僻的孩子更差、更脆弱。 最后，我们假设，生理评估的警惕性，再加上缺乏社交技能和同伴关系，将预测对社交能力和同伴关系的负面自我认知，以及青春期早期（11 岁）的内化问题。 这些假设将通过我们纵向项目的参与者在 11 岁时到实验室进行 3 次访问来检验。 第一节将由同性四重奏组成，就像孩子们在 4 岁和 7 岁时参加的四重奏一样。 第二节将包括友谊二元互动，其中将观察目标孩子与他/她最好的朋友互动。 同样在第二节中，焦点孩子和他/她最好的朋友都将与另外两个不熟悉的孩子一起参加同性四重奏。 第 3 节将允许收集心理生理数据。 通过这三个课程，我们将能够描述沉默寡言和非沉默寡言儿童的友谊和社交互动模式。 我们还将能够描述有能力的同伴互动发展的过程。 %%% 该项目的目标是检查 11 岁儿童的社交技能、社会关系和自我认知，这些儿童在早期被认为极度警惕和社交抑制。 早期的研究表明，青少年和成人的抑郁、焦虑和其他“内化”性质的问题可能是由于童年时期消极的自我评价和退出同龄人群体而导致的。 然而，负面自我评价和社交退缩的发展前兆总体上还是未知的。 在我们的纵向研究计划中，我们发现右额叶脑电图负性激活程度较高的婴儿和幼儿在生命的头两年往往会变得警惕且行为受到抑制。 这种心理生理学和行为的组合预示着学龄前同伴互动期间会出现极其谨慎、社交沉默的行为。 而且，4 年的社交沉默，加上右额叶脑电图的负激活，预示着 7 岁时会从同龄人群体中退缩。 在本研究中，我们预测，性格孤僻的 7 岁儿童，尤其是那些右额叶相对较不对称的儿童，在 11 岁时，当他们试图与同龄人发起互动时，会被拒绝。 我们还假设这些孩子在 11 岁时的友谊在质量上会比那些不孤僻的孩子的友谊更差、更脆弱。 最后，我们假设，生理评估的警惕性，再加上贫乏的社交技能和同伴关系，将预测对社交能力和同伴关系的负面自我认知，以及青春期早期（11 岁）的内化问题。 这些假设将通过我们纵向项目的参与者在 11 岁时到实验室进行 3 次访问来检验。 在这些课程中，我们将评估孩子们的同伴关系的质量，特别强调他们与最好的朋友的关系的质量和强度/脆弱性。 我们还将评估孩子们对其社交技能和社会关系的自我表达看法，以及他们的焦虑、社交戒心和抑郁情绪。 最后，考虑到右额叶不对称在预测儿童和青少年内化障碍中的重要性，我们将继续收集脑电图数据。 通过这项研究，我们将能够记录一些早期的起源，以及一些青少年早期伴随的关于自我的消极想法和感受、社会警惕性和其他内化性质的问题。