Temperament, Parenting, and Trajectories of Anxious and Regulated Shyness in Chinese Children: A 4‐Year Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACT Anxious shyness refers to social inhibition and wariness toward familiar peers or authority figures, possibly due to concerns about negative social evaluation. In contrast, regulated shyness is characterized by nonassertive, unassuming, and polite behavior, particularly in conspicuous and potentially conflictual situations. This 4‐year longitudinal study examined the trajectories of anxious and regulated shyness from first (T1) to fourth grade (T4) and how temperament and parenting practices at first grade might be related to these trajectories in Chinese children. The participants were 404 children (51% male; M age = 6.20 years at T1) recruited from Yinchuan, China. Overall anxious shyness decreased, whereas regulated shyness increased from T1 to T4. Temperamental shyness at T1 was associated with both intercepts, whereas attention shifting at T1 was related to the linear slope of anxious shyness (negatively) and quadratic slope of regulated shyness (positively). Shaming and encouragement of modesty at T1 were associated with the intercept of anxious and regulated shyness, respectively.