Abstract

This study examined mean-levels of shyness from childhood to senescence. To improve validity in our shyness measure across age, we used two different but comparable shyness scales in adult and child/adolescent datasets that were created separately within a repeated cross-sectional design. In the adult analysis (N = 1,294, ages = 17–86), measurement invariance (through multi-group confirmatory factor analysis and the alignment method) was established among age groups but not between the sexes; only comparisons across age were considered valid. Significant mean differences among adult groups indicated shyness followed an inverted U-shape pattern. In the child/adolescent sample (N = 554, ages = 4–16), measurement invariance was found across sex but not age groups. Mean differences in adult shyness might have been tied to age-related social processes and measurement validity may have limited accurate assessment of shyness across child/adolescence. Issues associated with the validity of measuring shyness across the lifespan are discussed.

摘要

这项研究检查了从儿童到衰老的平均害羞水平。为了提高我们的害羞测量跨年龄的有效性，我们在成人和儿童/青少年数据集中使用了两个不同但可比较的害羞量表，这些量表是在重复的横截面设计中分别创建的。在成人分析中（N  = 1,294，年龄 = 17-86），测量不变性（通过多组验证性因素分析和对齐方法）在年龄组之间建立，而不是在性别之间建立；只有跨年龄的比较才被认为是有效的。成人组之间的显着平均差异表明害羞遵循倒 U 形模式。在儿童/青少年样本中（N = 554，年龄 = 4-16），在性别而非年龄组中发现了测量不变性。成人害羞的平均差异可能与年龄相关的社会过程有关，测量有效性可能限制了对儿童/青春期害羞的准确评估。讨论了与在整个生命周期中测量害羞的有效性相关的问题。