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. 2021 Sep;15(3):160-167.
doi: 10.1111/cdep.12417. Epub 2021 Aug 5.

Perspectives on Social Withdrawal in Childhood: Past, Present, and Prospects

Kenneth H Rubin  1 , Andrea Chronis-Tuscano  1
Affiliations

Perspectives on Social Withdrawal in Childhood: Past, Present, and Prospects

Kenneth H Rubin et al. Child Dev Perspect. 2021 Sep.

Abstract

In this article, we provide definitional clarity for the construct of social withdrawal as it was originally construed, and review the original theoretical and conceptual bases that led to the first research program dedicated to the developmental study of social withdrawal (the Waterloo Longitudinal Project). We also describe correlates (e.g., social and social-cognitive incompetence), precursors (e.g., dispositional characteristics, parenting, insecure attachment), and consequences (e.g., peer rejection and victimization, negative self-regard, anxiety) of social withdrawal, and discuss how the study of this type of withdrawal led to a novel intervention that targets risk factors that predict social withdrawal and its negative consequences.

Keywords: internalizing problems; intervention; social withdrawal.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Pathways to Social Withdrawal
Figure 2
Figure 2
The Turtle Program* *Note. For a detailed description, see Danko et al. (2018)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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