ABSTRACT
The development of inhibition or shyness in children is an important construct to study. Extremely shy children have greater difficulty interacting with peers and adjusting to new situations, which can result in greater unhappiness at school and increased absences as well as emotional insecurity as a result of increased problems in making new friends (Gersten, 1989; Kipp, 1993). In fact, this problem can become severe enough that a very shy child might be unable to raise his or her hand in class to answer a question because of a fear of being looked at or laughed at. Some recent studies supported a connection between inhibition and anxiety disorders, showing that the two tend to run in families (Kagan et al., 1990; Reznick, Hegeman, Kaufman, Woods, & Jacobs, 1992; Rosenbaum et al., 1988, 1991).
