ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
主办：中国心理学会
　　　中国科学院心理研究所
出版：科学出版社

心理学报 ›› 2015, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (8): 1004-1012.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2015.01004

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

儿童中期和青春期早期独处偏好与心理适应之关系：有调节的中介效应

刘俊升1;周颖2;李丹1;陈欣银3   

  1. (1上海师范大学心理学系, 上海 200234) (2中国浦东干部学院教研部, 上海 201204)
    (3宾夕法尼亚大学教育学院, 美国费城 19104-6216)
  • 收稿日期:2014-11-01 发布日期:2015-08-25 出版日期:2015-08-25
  • 通讯作者: 周颖, E-mail: zhouying1980@163.com
  • 基金资助:

    国家自然科学基金项目(31300855)、国家社会科学基金项目(14CSH039, 12BSH056)和上海市教委科研创新重点项目(14ZS112)资助。

Relations between Preference for Solitude and Psychological Adjustment in Middle Childhood and Early Adolescence: A Moderated Mediating Model

LIU Junsheng1; ZHOU Ying2; LI Dan1; CHEN Xinyin3   

  1. (1 Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China)
    (2 Department of Educational Research, China Executive Leadership Academy. Pudong, Shanghai 201204, China)
    (3 Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-6216, USA)
  • Received:2014-11-01 Online:2015-08-25 Published:2015-08-25
  • Contact: ZHOU Ying, E-mail: zhouying1980@163.com

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摘要：

本研究采用自评独处偏好量表、儿童孤独感量表、儿童抑郁量表、儿童自我觉知量表以及同伴提名对1026名儿童中期和青春期早期的儿童进行调查, 考察独处偏好与心理适应的关系、同伴接纳在上述关系中的中介作用以及年龄对上述中介作用的调节。研究结果表明：(1)独处偏好的年龄差异显著, 青春期早期的独处偏好程度高于儿童中期; (2)独处偏好与孤独、抑郁呈显著正相关, 与自尊呈显著负相关; (3)独处偏好经由同伴接纳影响心理适应各指标的中介作用受年龄的调节。同伴接纳的中介效应只出现在儿童中期, 在青春期早期并不存在上述中介作用。研究结果验证了中国文化背景下独处偏好与心理适应不良相联系的假说, 并在一定程度上揭示了二者关系背后可能的原因与作用机制。

关键词: 独处偏好, 心理适应, 同伴接纳, 有调节的中介效应

Abstract:

Socially withdrawn children remove themselves from opportunities for social interaction. Most previous research has focused shy children (who withdraw due to a social fear and wariness), whereas less is known about children who may simply have a preference for solitude. Empirical studies have found that although preference for solitude appears to be a relatively benign form of social withdrawal in Western societies, children who prefer solitude or aloneness tend to report higher level of adjustment problems in China. However, most of the studies conducted in Western societies have relied on children’s self reports, whereas the findings in China have been based primarily on peer evaluations of preference for solitude. These methodological inconsistencies reduce the comparability of the results. Thus, the first aim of the present study was to examine the relations between Chinese children’s self-reports of preference for solitude and indices of psychological maladjustment.
According to the contextual-developmental perspective, cultural context plays an important role in the development of individual social and behavioral functioning. Whereas most Western societies emphasize independence and self-expression, Chinese society places greater emphasis on interdependent ties among individuals and group harmony. As a result, children who prefer aloneness and maintain distance from the group may be viewed as anti-collective, and thus would be more likely to be rejected by peers. Such negative feedback from peers may, in turn, place unsociable children at a higher risk for psychological maladjustment. In this regard, peer relationships would be expected to play an important mediating role in the relations between preference for solitude and psychological adjustment.
As compared to the middle childhood, a significant developmental change during pre-adolescence is the increased value placed on privacy and alone time. Adolescents may begin to respect unsociable individuals’ decisions to be solitary, perhaps because of the change in their own needs for privacy. Therefore, the mediating effects of peer relationships in the relations between preference for solitude and psychological adjustment may also be moderated by age.

Accordingly, in the present study a moderated mediation model was examined, in which peer preference mediated the relations between preference for solitude and psychological adjustment, and this mediation effect was moderated by age. Participants were 1026 children in middle childhood and early adolescence. Assessments of preference for solitude, loneliness, depression, self-esteem and peer preference were obtained from self-reports and peer nominations. Results indicated that: (1) in early adolescence, higher preference for solitude scores were reported than in middle childhood; (2) preference for solitude was positively associated with loneliness and depression, and negatively associated with self-esteem; (3) peer preference partially mediated relations between preference for solitude and indices of psychological adjustment, and age moderated this mediation effect. The mediation effects were found in middle childhood, but not in late childhood. Results are discussed in terms of the meaning and implications of preference for solitude in different developmental periods.

Key words: preference for solitude, psychological adjustment, peer preference, moderated mediating