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Relationships among shyness, social competence, peer relations, and theory of mind among pre-adolescents

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Abstract

The present study examined the relationships between shyness, a number of personal and interpersonal variables (i.e. social skills, self-esteem, attachment style, advanced Theory of Mind skills and peer relations) in a sample of 243 Greek pre-adolescents. Participants completed self-reports of the variables. Results indicated that females scored higher than males in all social skills, as well as on shyness. Males, on the other hand, reported more peer relations. Securely attached children reported more peer relationships and achieved higher scores in theory of mind tasks, than those insecurely attached, whereas the latter had higher scores in shyness. Children who reported few peer relations were more likely to obtain higher scores in shyness. Shyness was predicted by gender (girl), poor peer relations and insecure attachment. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for practice.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to express their great appreciation to Dr Angelos Markos, assistant professor at the Department of Primary Education, School of Education Sciences, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, for his statistical advice, as well as to Mrs Eirini Kipritsi, doctoral candidate, for her constructive suggestions during the administration of the ToM tasks.

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  1. Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, N. Hili, 68100, Alexandroupolis, Greece

    Constantinos M. Kokkinos, Styliani Kakarani & Demetra Kolovou

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  1. Constantinos M. Kokkinos
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  2. Styliani Kakarani
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Correspondence to Constantinos M. Kokkinos.

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Kokkinos, C.M., Kakarani, S. & Kolovou, D. Relationships among shyness, social competence, peer relations, and theory of mind among pre-adolescents. Soc Psychol Educ 19, 117–133 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-015-9317-7

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