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linked to social withdrawal in western societies (e.g., United States, Canada). It
seemed important to examine these associations in China because recent research
suggests that young Chinese children who exhibit wariness in peer settings may be at
risk for negative outcomes such as peer rejection. Therefore, the purpose of this
study was to examine the relation between Chinese parenting practices and
preschoolers' social withdrawal. Mothers of preschool-age children from
mainland China (N = 446) completed self-report parenting questionnaires.
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modest behaviors. Results showed that (a) maternal directiveness was positively
associated with reticent behavior in girls and negatively associated with
solitary-passive behavior in boys, (b) maternal overprotection, for girls, was
positively related to both reticent behavior and solitary-passive behavior, and
negatively related to modest behavior, (c) coercion was positively associated with
solitary-active and reticent behavior in girls, and (d) shaming was positively
related to all forms of withdrawn behaviors in boys and girls, as well as positively
related to modest behavior in boys.
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