Preschool Shyness Study
AboutIs your child very shy?Many children feel somewhat nervous when meeting unfamiliar people or encountering new situations. However, some children are so shy and nervous that it can hinder their ability to form meaningful relationships with peers and limits their participation in academics and extracurricular activities.
Drs. Andrea Chronis-Tuscano and Kenneth Rubin are conducting a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study examining two early intervention programs for shy children ages 45 to 64 months (3.5 - 5 years) and their parents. Research has found that both programs are effective in helping children feel less nervous in social situations. |
After four years of working with families, we have had over 150 families participate in the study. We have also visited the many different preschools that the children attended to see how they play in their classrooms, allowing us to see how the program may have made a difference for the children and their parents. Over the next year, we will continue to follow up with families to see how children and parents are doing a year after they participate in the groups. We are excited to begin looking at the outcomes of the two treatments we tested!
Recent Publications
1) Chronis-Tuscano, A., Rubin, K.H., O’Brien, K.A., Coplan, R.J., Thomas, S.R., Dougherty, L.R., Cheah, C.S.L, Watts, K.*, Heverly-Fitt, S.*, Huggins, S.L., Menzer, M., Schulz Begle, A., & Wimsatt, M.* (2015). Preliminary evaluation of a multi-modal early intervention program for behaviorally inhibited preschoolers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 83(3), 534-540. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039043
2) Rubin, K.H., Barstead, M.*, & Smith, K.*. (2016). Shyness in young children. In Couchenour, D. (Ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. (pp. 1221-1225). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 9781483340357. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340333.n364
3) Chronis-Tuscano, A., Danko, C., Rubin, K.H., Coplan, R., & Novick, D.* (2018 online). Future Directions for research on early intervention for young children at risk for social anxiety. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47 (4) 655-667, DOI:10.1080/15374416.2018.1426006
4) Barstead, M.G.*, Danko, C.M., O’Brien, K.O., Coplan, R.J., Chronis-Tuscano, A., & Rubin, K.H. (2018). Generalization of an Early Intervention for Inhibited Preschoolers to the Classroom Setting, Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 2943-2953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1142-0
5) Danko, C.M., O'Brien, K.A., Rubin, K.H., & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2018). The Turtle Program: PCIT for young children displaying behavioral inhibition. In L.N. Niec (Ed.), Handbook of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Innovations and Applications for Research and Practice. (pp. 85-98). New York: Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-97697-6
6) Rubin, K.H., Barstead, M.G.*, Smith, K.A.*, & Bowker, J.C. (2018). Peer relations and the Behaviorally Inhibited Child. In K. Perez-Edgar &; N.A. Fox (Eds), Behavioral Inhibition during Childhood and Adolescence. Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-98076-8
7) Hastings, P.D., Rubin, K.H., Smith, K.A.,* & Wagner, N.* (in press). Parents of socially withdrawn children. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting. (3 rd Edition). New York: Routledge.
1) Chronis-Tuscano, A., Rubin, K.H., O’Brien, K.A., Coplan, R.J., Thomas, S.R., Dougherty, L.R., Cheah, C.S.L, Watts, K.*, Heverly-Fitt, S.*, Huggins, S.L., Menzer, M., Schulz Begle, A., & Wimsatt, M.* (2015). Preliminary evaluation of a multi-modal early intervention program for behaviorally inhibited preschoolers. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 83(3), 534-540. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0039043
2) Rubin, K.H., Barstead, M.*, & Smith, K.*. (2016). Shyness in young children. In Couchenour, D. (Ed.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Contemporary Early Childhood Education. (pp. 1221-1225). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. ISBN: 9781483340357. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781483340333.n364
3) Chronis-Tuscano, A., Danko, C., Rubin, K.H., Coplan, R., & Novick, D.* (2018 online). Future Directions for research on early intervention for young children at risk for social anxiety. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 47 (4) 655-667, DOI:10.1080/15374416.2018.1426006
4) Barstead, M.G.*, Danko, C.M., O’Brien, K.O., Coplan, R.J., Chronis-Tuscano, A., & Rubin, K.H. (2018). Generalization of an Early Intervention for Inhibited Preschoolers to the Classroom Setting, Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27, 2943-2953. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-018-1142-0
5) Danko, C.M., O'Brien, K.A., Rubin, K.H., & Chronis-Tuscano, A. (2018). The Turtle Program: PCIT for young children displaying behavioral inhibition. In L.N. Niec (Ed.), Handbook of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy: Innovations and Applications for Research and Practice. (pp. 85-98). New York: Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-97697-6
6) Rubin, K.H., Barstead, M.G.*, Smith, K.A.*, & Bowker, J.C. (2018). Peer relations and the Behaviorally Inhibited Child. In K. Perez-Edgar &; N.A. Fox (Eds), Behavioral Inhibition during Childhood and Adolescence. Springer. ISBN: 978-3-319-98076-8
7) Hastings, P.D., Rubin, K.H., Smith, K.A.,* & Wagner, N.* (in press). Parents of socially withdrawn children. In M. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of Parenting. (3 rd Edition). New York: Routledge.