WITHDRAWN KIDS FACE PEER REJECTION.

• Position: Research of social behavior of children - Brief Article

Six-year-old Billy Hawks enjoyed the same activities as most kids his age, but his mother was concerned because her son didn't have many friends. When he was at school, Billy would sit anxiously, watching other children play, but would never join them. In middle school, Billy's withdrawn behavior persisted, and his peers consistently made fun of him. They thought him incompetent and odd. Now, as an adult, Billy is emotionally distressed, is often distracted, and rarely speaks to others.

Results of a Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, study can help children like Billy at an early age. A team of researchers, headed by Craig H. Hart of the school's Family Studies Center, investigated "peer acceptance in early childhood and subtypes of socially withdrawn behavior in China, Russia, and the United States." Through their research, they made monumental discoveries concerning the implications and effects of childhood social withdrawal.

"This research is especially valuable because it enables parents and teachers to recognize the forms of childhood social withdrawal that are most detrimental to development," Hart maintains. "These findings decrease the chances of children's withdrawal going undetected and ultimately untreated."

The researchers found youngsters with reticent behavior--the subtype exhibited in Billy's case--are at a higher risk for social difficulties than other children are. In all three cultural...