Cape Town - While childhood fears and anxiety are quite common and considered a part of typical child development, they can sometimes develop into a serious psychiatric problem which may have a major influence on a child’s functioning.
Anxiety disorders are classified as the most common psychiatric disorders among young children and adolescents.
The extremely shy child, in particular, could struggle with anxiety.
Shy children may have low self-esteem and experience loneliness and depression. They are also more likely than their peers to have problems in adjusting to school settings and may be rejected by their peers.
A recent study, the first of its kind in South Africa, on the relationship between shyness and anxiety among pre-schoolers (2- to 6-year-olds) found that children who are considered extremely shy during early childhood are more likely to develop anxiety problems in later childhood.
When measured for anxiety, 4- to 6-year-olds were found to be more anxious than 2- to 3-year-olds. It may be that younger children’s anxiety goes unnoticed as they do not know how to communicate their experience.
At this point, it should be noted, though, that the experience of shyness in early childhood is considered to be very normal and typical behaviour, especially in a new and unfamiliar environment. There isn’t a specific age at which children outgrow shyness, and some children might even be shy throughout their childhood.
Extreme shyness is problematic as it is characterised by intense worry or fear and may have an impact on the child’s ability to engage in social situations.
Parent and teacher reports used to gather data highlighted the strong link between shyness and anxiety among pre-schoolers. The association was more pronounced in the teachers’ reports.
The reason for the difference between the reports may be that parents and teachers observe children in different settings. For example, parents may be unaware of their children’s shyness at school.
The parent and teacher reports offered very valuable information since both teachers and parents observed and perceived the children’s behaviour across different developmental stages, in different settings over a long period of time.
The two sets of reports proved advantageous as both parents and teachers provided information that offered a better idea of the children’s behaviour.
Also, the use of parent and teacher reports helped create awareness of the problem among the participating adults by providing them with feedback on the research findings.
Apart from highlighting the link between shyness and anxiety, the study underscores the importance of identifying children at risk so that timeous interventions can be implemented.
Social anxiety, in particular, should be addressed early because there may be a link between shyness and the development of symptoms in later childhood or adolescence (around 12 years of age).
Social anxiety (or social phobia) is the persistent fear of performing in front of others or being the centre of attention in a social situation where the child might embarrass him or herself.
Social anxiety is more than just “normal” fear or nervousness as it may limit the child’s ability to engage in everyday social activities. These children might experience extreme anxiety in ordinary activities where they have to do something in front of others, for example handing out papers in class, or eating in front of others.
As a result, they try to avoid social situations. When in a social situation they may withdraw, become very quiet, cry or have a temper tantrum.
The link between shyness and social anxiety is not surprising as shyness and social anxiety have many of the same characteristics, such as fearfulness and withdrawal when in new, unfamiliar situations or meeting unfamiliar people.
One of the reasons why interventions only happen at a late stage is that anxiety symptoms in young children often go unnoticed by the most important individuals in their lives. Parents and teachers, for example, may be unaware a child is struggling with anxiety, especially as its symptoms are internalised and young children do not yet have the ability to verbalise what they are experiencing. Consequently, these children are not referred for treatment in time, causing the anxiety to have a major impact on their lives.
To reduce the possible effect of anxiety on children’s lives, those at risk have to be identified at a young age.
To achieve this we will need more research on the link between shyness and anxiety in children.
The research findings presented here can help create awareness among parents and teachers of anxiety in, especially shy, children.
Finally, the study has the potential to contribute significantly to knowledge on planning and implementation of prevention programmes.
Cape Times
* Wege is a research assistant for a Stellenbosch University cognitive behavioural therapy-based intervention programme for the management of anxiety symptoms in South African children with visual impairments. This article is based on her recent Master’s degree in psychology.