UMaine Study Seeks to Track and Treat Shyness in Children
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — University of Maine doctoral candidate Bethany Sallinen is looking for children to volunteer for a research project. She also is looking for a group of children who are not shy.
Sallinen wants to compare about 70 shy and non-shy children, ages eight to 12 years old, to see how they differ in their symptoms of anxiety, social interactions and interactions with parents.
The research for her dissertation will break new ground in identifying how to help extremely shy children by teaching parents new ways to interact with their children, she says. It also will make available free treatment therapy for children diagnosed as suffering from severe shyness, or social anxiety.
“It seems to be that children who are extremely shy or ‘socially anxious’ have difficulty in school going to the board, speaking in class, participating in gym class, and making friends,” Sallinen says. “Those children are at risk to develop more serious consequences of social anxiety.”
Most people remember being shy at some point in their lives. Shyness is a tendency to withdraw from unfamiliar people. Social anxiety, on the other hand, usually presents itself as a much more uncomfortable feeling during, or even thinking about, social situations. Some people grow to be shy or socially anxious adults and accommodate their fear simply by steering clear of situations that put them in front of groups.
But chronically shy people with extreme anxiety can develop a condition called social phobia that not only makes life miserable, out of fear of social or performance situations, but it can cripple a person’s self-esteem and self-confidence, according to Sallinen. That can negatively influence life-altering education or career decisions, and it can prevent children from reaching important developmental milestones as they age, she says.
Sallinen, under the guidance of Marie Hayes, associate professor of psychology, hopes to do the research that will enable parents and counselors to identify and treat chronic shyness in a child’s formative years.
Parents, she says, can be the best helpers in the process, since they probably notice their shy children avoid social situations, birthday parties or even have difficulty going to school in the morning.
“It’s the shyness that interferes with their everyday functioning,” Sallinen says. “They’re less likely to achieve if they are untreated. Some of these children fail to complete their education. Some of them don’t finish high school and don’t go to college.”
They look for jobs, she says, where they can avoid speaking or expressing themselves. Over time, a lack of achievement and self-confidence can lead to depression because of loneliness and low self-esteem, she says.
Early recognition and counseling — which Sallinen and the psychology department at the University of Maine are offering free for children who participate in the study — can turn a child’s life around, she says.
Shyness is an underreported affliction, according to Sallinen, since shy children usually are not the ones acting out at school. About five percent of children suffer from social phobia, which could and should be treated, according to Sallinen. She says that studies also have shown that as many as 15 percent of adolescents suffer from social anxiety.
“I think extremely socially anxious people are unhappy,” she says. “They usually want to do the things that make them afraid. They want to be happy, but the social anxiety is keeping them from doing that.”
Some people, regardless of age, who suffer from severe social anxiety also spend too much time worrying about potential social situations, real or imagined. That can trigger uncomfortable physical symptoms — blushing, butterflies, stomach aches, heart palpitations, sweating or dizziness — according to Sallinen. Children often tell their parents about physical symptoms, but not the source of what’s troubling them.
The testing Sallinen proposes to do with 35 shy children and 35 children who are not shy involves less than two hours of time, during a one-time video-taped interview. She and Hayes or Sallinen and another graduate student will come to a child’s home, or the child can come to the university’s Child Studies Laboratory on the Orono campus for some questions and answers, snacks, games and little treats.
The few children she has interviewed so far “have had a good experience,” she says. “They come in with their parents, play some games and have fun. We also ask them some questions about their anxiety. It’s not something that’s too stressful for children or their parents.”
Sallinen notes that because of the difficulty in finding shy children willing to participate in the study, and an even bigger challenge in finding non-shy children to participate in the study, she is willing to travel anywhere in the state.
The incentive for participating, she said, is chiefly having a role in helping with valuable research that can lead to less shyness and fewer children’s lives being compromised by a treatable anxiety problem.
Secondary benefits, though, include a small financial stipend for parents who bring their children in, a small gift for the child and for children who qualify for therapy, free treatment under the supervision of a licensed, clinical psychologist at the university.
The interviews can be any time that’s convenient for the child or parent, Sallinen says.
Sallinen, who holds a bachelor of science degree in neuroscience from Bates College and has been doing post-graduate work in psychology and internships through UMaine for nearly five years, can be contacted at (207) 581-2071 or by email at bethany.sallinen@umit.maine.edu.
Her plans after completing her research and doctorate include becoming a licensed clinical psychologist, with a focus on children and adolescents.