Shyness–anxiousness and receptive language skills development in Spanish- and English-speaking preschoolers

The present study utilized a short-term longitudinal research design to model the relationship between shyness–anxiousness and receptive language skills. Hypotheses regarding the direction of the causal relationship, mediation, and moderation were evaluated. Subjects included 340 Head Start attendees from primarily English- and Spanish-speaking homes. Results suggest that a unidirectional relationship between shyness–anxiousness and receptive language skills emerges in preschool. Shyness–anxiousness impacted receptive language skills and this relationship was mediated by communication competence. Neither gender nor native language moderated the indirect relationship from shyness–anxiousness to receptive language through communication competence. These results are discussed with respect to elucidating the nature of the bidirectional relationship between shyness–anxiousness and language skills and identifying intervention targets to improve language outcomes for shy–anxious preschoolers.

► We model concurrent and longitudinal relationships between shyness–anxiousness and receptive language skills. ► Participants include 340 Head Start attendees from primarily English- and Spanish-speaking homes. ► Shyness–anxiousness predicts change in receptive language skills and this relationship was mediated by communication competence. ► Native language did not moderate this relationship.