Project: Unpacking Shyness Heterogeneity and Influencing Factors among Chinese Adolescents: A Person-centered Approach

Adolescence is a critical period for personality development, and shyness may be a personality trait associated with low self-esteem. Excessive shyness can have negative impacts on various aspects of adolescent's life and learning, and can be a barrier to daily social participation. In this study, we conducted a three-part questionnaire survey of 898 middle school students in Jiangxi, China and conducted a series of studies using latent profile analysis. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) of the shyness scale items revealed four profiles of adolescent shyness. Analyzing the prediction variables of shyness, the results showed that bullying victimization, positive father-child relationship, and negative mother-child relationship significantly predicted which profile a member belonged to. However, positive mother-child relationship and negative father-child relationship did not.