Örebro University, Sweden.
Scand J Psychol. 2011 Aug;52(4):341-53. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2011.00877.x. Epub 2011 Mar 14.
Advanced maturity in early adolescence has previously been linked with several risk behaviors. In this study, we examine whether shyness and gender might moderate this link. The participants were 750 early adolescents (M(age) = 13.73; 390 girls and 360 boys), followed for one year. We conducted analyses with shyness and gender as moderators of the links between advanced maturity and different types of risk behavior, and between one risk behavior and another. Despite differential patterns for boys and girls, the results suggest that being shy or not being shy modifies the links between advanced maturity and risk behavior primarily for boys. For boys, shyness reduces relationships between advanced maturity and risk behavior, whereas not being shy exacerbates the relationships between advanced maturity and high-risk behavior. Controlling for romantic involvement and peer victimization did not alter the moderating effects, thus failing to support the idea that the weaker links for shy youths were due to shy youths not being drawn into advanced peer groups by romantic partners or peers. Thus, shyness might serve as a buffer against risk behavior in early adolescence.
早期青春期的高级成熟度以前与几种风险行为有关。在这项研究中，我们研究了害羞和性别是否会对此产生影响。研究参与者为 750 名早期青少年（M（年龄）= 13.73；390 名女孩和 360 名男孩），随访一年。我们进行了分析，将害羞和性别作为高级成熟度与不同类型的风险行为之间以及一种风险行为与另一种风险行为之间联系的调节剂。尽管男孩和女孩的模式不同，但结果表明，害羞或不害羞会改变高级成熟度与风险行为之间的联系，主要是对男孩而言。对于男孩来说，害羞会降低高级成熟度与风险行为之间的关系，而不害羞则会加剧高级成熟度与高风险行为之间的关系。控制浪漫关系和同伴侵害并不会改变调节作用，因此，害羞的青少年之间的关系较弱并不是因为害羞的青少年没有被浪漫伴侣或同伴吸引到高级同伴群体中，这一观点并没有得到支持。因此，害羞可能是青春期早期风险行为的缓冲因素。
