RESEARCH ARTICLE


Shyness and Psychological Adjustment During Adolescence: The Moderating Role of Parenting Style



Franca Tani*, 1, Lucia Ponti1, Martina Smorti2
1 Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence
2 Faculty of Education, Free University of Bozen


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Creative Commons License
© 2014 Tani et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode). This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the University of Florence, Department of Health Sciences –Psychology Unit-, Via di San Salvi, 12 -Building 26 - 50135 Firenze, Italy; Tel: +39 055-2755000; Fax: +39 055-6236047; E-mail: franca.tani@psico.unifi.it


Abstract

Although shyness constitutes a risk factor for maladjustment, parenting style may influence these developmental trajectories during childhood. Little is known about the role of parental style in the relationship between shyness and psychological adjustment during adolescence.

Aims:

To explore the relationship between shyness and parenting style and to analyse the moderating role of the quality of parenting in the relationship between shyness and internalizing difficulties during adolescence.

Method:

787 11 to 19 year-old participants (divided in early and late adolescents) were recruited for this study. Participants completed Revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale, Parental Bonding Instrument and internalizing scale of Youth Self Report.

Results:

Shy adolescents perceived parents to be less warm and close, less encouraging of their autonomy and independence, and more overprotective and intrusive than did other participants. During early-adolescence participants who perceived their parents as supportive and not intrusive showed significantly fewer internalizing problems related to shyness.

Keywords: Parenting style, psychological adjustment, shyness.