Research

Social Adjustment of First-Generation Immigrant Children

Canada has welcomed a record high number of new immigrants over the past decade, so new immigrants will continue to make up a large portion of Canada’s population. First-generation immigrant children are at elevated risk for adjustment difficulties because of the unique barriers that they face, including language and cultural differences between the dominant and native culture, and increased responsibilities such as acting as mediators and translators for their parents. These barriers may be some of the reasons why immigrant children are at greater risk for peer victimization and other social difficulties at school. Despite the significant barriers first-generation immigrant children face, we know little about their social development and the factors contributing positively or negatively to their adjustment. In this study, we will examine the social, emotional, and cognitive development of 6- to 8-year-old first-generation immigrant children from Arabic-speaking families relative to non-immigrant children in the laboratory using a dyadic approach. The study also aims to examine whether temperamental, emotional, or cognitive-level factors are related to positive and negative social adjustment measured via teacher report and direct behavioural observation, and if the strength of these associations differs between first-generation immigrant and non-immigrant children. This study will use dyadic approach to model social interactions in the laboratory. This research was funded by a SSHRC Insight Development Grant and a Western University Samuel Clark Research Fund Grant.

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Increasing Familiarity to Improve Children’s Social Relationships with Peers

Shyness is a temperamental trait characterized by fear in response to social novelty. Shy children view social novelty as threatening and may have a difficult time regulating their fear and anxiety in new social contexts. Shy children’s sensitivity to novelty is problematic because young children are often exposed to new social situations in which they are expected to participate. For example, school entry can be an exciting time for many children, but meeting new people and authority figures in a new building can be particularly difficult for shy children. Importantly, some previous work has found differences in shy children’s behaviour based on familiarity. Despite the difficulties shy children face in new social situations, we do not know what kind or degree of familiarity is necessary to improve engagement in new social situations, or how familiarity manipulations influence other children’s responses to shy children. In this study, we will examine how manipulating the familiarity of the environment, peers, and authority figures influences shy children’s own and their social partner’s behaviour, perceptions, and adjustment in a laboratory context. This research was funded by a Western Strategic Support for SSHRC Success Seed Grant.