Associations between Shyness and Maternal and Paternal Bonds across Adolescence

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between shyness and the parental bond in early (N = 227) and late adolescence (N = 248) through participants’ perceptions of their bond with their parents. Method: Shy subjects were compared with their non-shy peers across three dimensions of their perception of parenting behavior: (a) care, (b) encouragement towards autonomy, and (c) overprotection. Participants completed a parental bond measure and a measure of shyness. Results: Results showed that shy adolescents perceived their parents as less warm and supportive, less encouraging of autonomy and independence, and more overprotective than non-shy youth did. No significant differences were found in relation to gender and age. Conclusion: Results indicate that the perceived quality of the parent-adolescent relationship is higher in non-shy than in shy subjects since the latter perceived their parents to be more intrusive and protective than non-shy participants did. These results are consistent with previous findings on the influence of parental behaviour on shy children and extend these results by confirming that adolescents report a similar tendency in their parents’ behavior.