An Analysis Of The Differences In Interpersonal Problem Solving Strategies For Children In Different Social Withdrawals

Interpersonal interaction is of great importance for individual's physical and psychological growth,but,shy children and unsociable children remove themselves from opportunities for social interactions which may lead to peer problem(e.g.,peer exclusion,victimization).Therefore,how to solve interpersonal problems is of great significance for shy children and unsociable children.In general,interpersonal problem situations include peer initiation,maintaining social relationships,and resolution of conflict.So far,some researchers have studied the interpersonal problem solving strategies of shy children and unsociable children in conflict situation,however this single situation is hardly to represent the whole interactive process.Furthermore,shy children have difficulty in creating and maintaining a healthy relationship.Therefore,the aim of this study is to explore the thoughts of three types of socially withdrawn children when they face different interpersonal problem situations,and compare the similarities and differences among them,which will enable researchers to grasp the characteristics of shy children and unsociable children more accurately,and provide theoretical support for its intervention.This study investigated 306 children's interpersonal problem solving strategies in three types of interpersonal problem situations(peer initiation,maintaining social relationships,and resolution of conflict)through interview.Results show:(1)there is no difference in the number of interpersonal problem solving strategies among shy children,unsociable children and non-withdrawn children;(2)in terms of the type of strategies,these three types of children use language strategies most frequently in the situation of initiating and maintaining relationships,but in the situation of conflict,three children use prosocial strategies most frequently.In the situation of initiating relationships,unsociable children use more "wait or give up" strategies than shy children and non-withdrawn children.In the situation of maintaining relationships,shy children and unsociable children both use more "wait or give up" strategies than non-withdrawn children.In the situation of conflict,these three types of children show no significant difference;(3)shy children and unsociable children score lower than non-withdrawn children in the effectiveness of strategies;(4)when it comes to the adequacy of strategies,shy children and unsociable children both score lower than non-withdrawn children in the initiation situation,and unsociable children also score lower than shy children and non-withdrawn children in the maintainance situation,butthere is no significant difference among these three types of children in the conflict situation;(5)we also find shy children and unsociable children are more likely to use“think of oneself” to explain the reason why they used a certain strategy.Unsociable children also use “moral rule” lesser than non-withdrawn children.In a word,these results show shy children and unsociable children do exist some cognitive deviations when facing interpersonal problem situations.Besides that,for shy children and unsociable children,peer initiation and maintaining social relationships situations are particularly challenging.Based on the results,this study also provides some educational advises,hoping to help these two types of socially withdrawn children's development.