Southern Methodist University Child Development Journal You are to read and review/critique a scholarly journal article on a topic in child psychology/chil

Southern Methodist University Child Development Journal You are to read and review/critique a scholarly journal article on a topic in child psychology/child development relevant to this course published since 2010 (do not include adolescent development, as that is in another course). The article must be primary research (i.e., not a literature review, review article itself, magazine/newspaper, blog, etc.) The appropriateness of the article, written expression and reflective critique will be assessed.

You are to submit the original article (attached as a PDF, not just a link), as well as a 4-5 page (double spaced).

Suggested questions to consider:

Was there a large enough sample?

What research model did they use? What would you have used?

Is this research valid? It is truly testing what it is meant to be testing?

What did the authors conclude? Do you agree with their conclusions?

Is this research useful to clinicians?

What did you think of this journal article?

What new learning can you take from this article that applies to your own life?

start out with a summary of the article, including the purpose, methods, and main findings (done in 1 page only so that the bulk of the paper is on your critique). Then the questions above asked were integrated into the paper in a well-written way with analytical critiques (positive and negative) of the research. As per the instructions, 4-5 pages double spaced.

-Below i will attach a word document of how to find a scholarly article.

-As well i will attach one of the students journal/ article they chose as a pdf as an example to show you how the structure should be but it cant be the same. Journal Article Review
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Loneliness in Chinese Children Across Contexts
Yunhua Ji, A00356976
The article, “Loneliness in Chinese Children Across Contexts”, is a Journal
Article from the American Psychological Association, 2014. In this study, authors, Chen,
Wang, Li, & Liu, attempted to examine whether Chinese children’s loneliness varied
across different time periods and contexts in China. They conducted their studies among
2,588 children at the average age of nine years and four months old from five groups in
five time periods, where three groups were from Shanghai in 1992, 1998, and 2002, one
group was from Beijing in 2005, and another group was from a rural region close to
Beijing in 2007. Chen et al. accessed these children’s loneliness levels by using 1) a
children’s self-report measure, where children were asked to respond to 16 selfstatements regarding loneliness using a five-point scale, and 2) a peer assessment, where
children were asked to nominate three of their classmates who could direct a class play.
The studies showed that social functioning plays an important role in affecting children’s
loneliness levels: social-cooperation is negatively associated with loneliness; aggression
is positively associated; and shyness has increasingly become more positively associated
with loneliness. The authors claimed that the association between shyness and loneliness
has changed from negative to positive because shyness was endorsed and appreciated in
the traditional Chinese group-oriented culture, where shyness was an indication of being
modest and having self-control. However, after economic reforms and social
transformations, shyness has been less valued and supported. Instead, assertiveness and
individuality are more encouraged and advocated. In addition, Chen et al. found that
children in rural areas experience higher levels of loneliness than children in urban cities.
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Overall, the sample size of 2,588 children in the study was large enough and the
experimenters paid attention to the equal gender distribution by making it almost half to
half (1320 boys and 1268 girls). However, in urban groups (Beijing and Shanghai), 91%
to 93% of children were the only children in their families. While in the rural group, there
was only 39% of children who were from singular child families, and the other 61% all
had siblings. In rural areas, the one-child policy was not strictly implemented, so it may
not be as easy in rural schools to find the same amount of these “only children” as in
urban schools; however, sibling status could affect children’s loneliness levels.
Therefore, finding the appropriate sample could yield more reliable and accurate results.
Although the title of the article indicates that it was a study on the loneliness of
Chinese children from different contexts, the article itself focused mainly on social
functioning. Chen et al. mostly hypothesized, proved, and explained the positive or
negative associations between the three social functionings (social-cooperation,
aggression, and shyness) and loneliness, and how time periods (before and after
economic and social reformations), as well as urban and rural demographics affect
children’s loneliness levels. However, the authors could have researched and discussed a
wider range of factors, and a good example would be to compare these “only children” to
those with siblings in terms of feeling lonely. Also, in regard to urban versus rural areas,
four researched groups among the five were located in urban cities (Shanghai and
Beijing) and the other one was in a rural region close to Beijing (4:1). Instead of 4:1, 1:1
would be better in order for results’ accuracy and persuasiveness. In addition, Chen et al.
should have researched groups from urban and rural regions in the same year, so the
2
comparison could account for similarities and differences between these groups based on
the economic and social influences on loneliness in children.
Other than the above downfalls, it was an effective article in terms of its
usefulness for parents and educators in realizing how and why children feel lonely. In
addition, the article could also provoke these parents and educators to help children cope
with loneliness. At this point, it would also be a beneficial idea for the authors to include
the impacts of loneliness on children. For example, when Chinese teachers learn that
aggressive children in China have higher levels of loneliness than in western countries,
they should realize that it is their schools’ strong prohibitions against aggressive behavior
that have caused this result. The reason is that Chinese teachers regularly give aggressive
children negative feedback about their behavior, and these teachers could change their
strong attitudes towards aggressive children in a gentle and more supportive way. As
well, this article is useful because Chinese educators could realize when urban children
become more assertive and pursue their personal interests due to economic and social
reformations in urban centers and cities, and rural children are still encouraged and
endorsed by following the traditional group-oriented values, such as being shy and
modest. These Chinese educators could help rural children to alter their social values and
align with the contemporary main urban society in order to prevent feelings of loneliness.
Generally, I was surprised by the impact of social and economic reformations on
children in my own country and I certainly learned new information from reviewing this
article. Based on my own growth experience, shyness was not valued and supported since
I was born (in early 90’s, south part of China, near Shanghai). I remember when I was
young, my parents would always criticize me for not greeting family relatives or their
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friends when I met them, and they loved telling me which of my friends were good
because they were more outgoing. Also, when in junior high school, I had a very difficult
time because I did not like many group activities and my parents worried me about it. I
learned from the article that individuality, such as pursuing personal pursuits and
exhibiting autonomy, which has been evident in urban China in recent years, might
promote feelings of social isolation and loneliness. However, I am also glad to learn that
Chinese urban children are actually able to be resilient to social and psychological
distress because they have a strong sense of self-confidence and self-direction
encouraged by their society. Personally, I really wished I could be more confident about
myself and supported by my parents and the society as a child, and that could have
helped me cope with loneliness at that time. Lastly, I surprisingly learned that aggressive
children actually experience higher levels of loneliness. Chances are this loneliness could
cause them to act more aggressively in order to get attention and be noticed. Overall, I
enjoyed reading this journal article and using it to reflect on my own childhood.
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Reference
Chen. X, Wang. L, Li. D., & Liu. J. (2014). Loneliness in Chinese Children Across
Contexts. American Psychology Association. Retrieved from
http://web.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=1d65f27d-026e447b-b0ea-bc877f24665c%40sessionmgr4007&hid=4114
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Developmental Psychology
2014, Vol. 50, No. 10, 2324 –2333
© 2014 American Psychological Association
0012-1649/14/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0037689
Loneliness in Chinese Children Across Contexts
Xinyin Chen
Li Wang
University of Pennsylvania
Peking University
Dan Li and Junsheng Liu
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
Shanghai Normal University
This study examined loneliness and its associations with social functioning in children across different
historical times and contexts in China. We collected data from urban and rural groups of school-age
children (N ⫽ 2,588; M age ⫽ 10 years) using self-reports and peer assessments. The results indicated
that children in 2002 and 2005 urban groups had lower scores on loneliness than did children in 1992 and
1998 urban groups, suggesting that as urban China became a more modernized, self-oriented society,
children tended to report lower levels of loneliness. Consistent with this trend, urban children reported
lower levels of loneliness than did their rural counterparts in recent years. The analysis of associations
between social functioning and loneliness revealed that across groups, sociability was negatively
associated with loneliness, and aggression was positively associated with loneliness. The association
between shyness and loneliness differed among the groups; it was negative in the 1992 urban group,
positive in the 2002 and 2005 urban groups, and nonsignificant in the 1998 urban and 2007 rural groups.
The different associations suggest that whether shy children feel lonely might depend on context.
Keywords: loneliness, context, social functioning, Chinese children
societies, with little attention to contextual effects. Consequently,
it is largely unknown whether the findings can be generalized to
children who live in different societies and, more importantly, how
specific circumstances play a role in shaping children’s experience
of loneliness. To help fill the gap, we conducted a study of
loneliness among groups of children in China with different backgrounds.
Loneliness is the subjective experience of dissatisfaction with
one’s social-relational life (e.g., Asher & Paquette, 2003). Research findings indicate that loneliness in childhood is associated
with unpleasant feelings and perceptions of unfulfilled relational
needs, such as lack of companionship, support, and affection (e.g.,
Coplan, Closson, & Arbeau, 2007). Moreover, feelings of loneliness are stable over time and predict a number of adjustment
problems including depression, negative self-regard, suicide, and
psychosomatic symptoms (e.g., Jobe-Shields, Cohen, & Parra,
2011; Qualter, Brown, Munn, & Rotenberg, 2010).
Researchers have argued that loneliness is interpersonal in nature and thus likely to be influenced by social context (Anderson,
1999; Medora, Woodward, & Larson, 1987). However, most research on loneliness in children has been conducted in Western
Social Change, Urban–Rural Differences, and
Children’s Loneliness in China
Maintaining social order and interpersonal harmony has traditionally been a primary concern in Chinese society. One of the
major tasks of socialization is to help children develop a sense of
belonging and loyalty to the group (Chen, 2010). In Chinese
schools, for example, students are often required to participate in
group activities. Through these activities, they are encouraged to
develop feelings of social connectedness and positive attitudes
toward the collective. Over the past two decades, China’s fullscale reforms toward a market economy have led to dramatic
social changes, including a decline in government control of social
welfare and a rapid rise in competition (W. W. Zhang, 2000).
Social-behavioral qualities such as initiative, exploration, and selfexpression, which are needed to succeed in the competitive environment, are increasingly appreciated, especially among younger
people (Yu, 2002).
Nevertheless, the vast social and economic reforms have been
largely limited to urban centers and cities. Families in rural China
still live mostly agricultural lives, and rural children do not have as
much exposure as urban children do to the massive social transformations (Li, 2006). In many rural areas, behavioral characteristics that have traditionally been endorsed, such as filial piety and
This article was published Online First September 1, 2014.
Xinyin Chen, Applied Psychology–Human Development, Graduate
School of Education, University of Pennsylvania; Li Wang, Department of
Psychology, Peking University; Dan Li and Junsheng Liu, Department of
Psychology, Shanghai Normal University.
The research and the preparation of the article were supported by grants
from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and
the National Science Foundation (BCS-1225620) to Xinyin Chen, from the
National Natural Science Foundation of China to Li Wang and Junsheng
Liu (31271103 and 31300855), and from the National Social Science
Foundation of China (12BSH056) to Dan Li. We are grateful to the
children for their participation.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to either Xinyin
Chen, Applied Psychology–Human Development, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania, 3700 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
19104-6216, or Li Wang, Department of Psychology, Peking University,
Beijing, China. E-mail: xinyin@gse.upenn.edu or liwang@pku.edu.cn
2324
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
LONELINESS AND SOCIAL FUNCTIONING
obedience, continue to be strongly emphasized (e.g., Fuligni &
Zhang, 2004), which is reflected in childrearing and education
(Wang & Huang-Pu, 2007). For example, relative to their urban
counterparts, rural parents and teachers are more likely to encourage children to display modesty and self-control and are less likely
to encourage children to engage in assertive behavior in social
interactions (e.g., Chen & Li, 2012; Shi & Xu, 2008).
The primary purpose of the present study was to examine
whether children’s loneliness varied across different time periods
and contexts. The study was conducted with elementary school
children in three urban cohorts (1992, 1998, and 2002) in Shanghai, an urban group in 2005 in Beijing, and a rural group in 2007
in a northern region of China near Beijing. The time points of
1992, 1998, and 2002/2005 represent different phases of the social
transformation in urban China; the 2002 Shanghai and 2005 Beijing groups and the 2007 rural group mainly represent the urban–
rural context. China’s comprehensive economic reforms, such as
the opening of the stock market, started in all major cities in the
early 1990s. Whereas children in the 1992 group likely experienced relatively limited influence of the reforms, children in the
2002 and 2005 urban groups were socialized in a context in which
increased competitiveness and assertiveness were required for
individual adaptation. Compared with these groups, the 1998 cohort represented an intermediate phase; children in this group
might have been exposed to mixed views and lifestyles in family,
school, and other settings.
It has been suggested that in societies and communities where
group orientations predominate, children are likely to develop
feelings of group belonging and interpersonal connectedness (Medora et al., 1987; Mijuskovic, 1992; Triandis, 1990). In contrast,
contexts that emphasize individuality may elicit perceptions and
feelings of social isolation. Thus, socialization for individual autonomy and endorsement of personal pursuits, which have become
more evident in urban China in recent years, may promote feelings
of social alienation and loneliness (Larson, 1999; Mijuskovic,
1992).
On the other hand, it has been argued that in a society, such as
rural China, that values group orientation and connectedness,
individuals may not necessarily experience reduced feelings of
loneliness (e.g., Chen et al., 2004). According to this argument, the
emphasis on interpersonal interdependence and communality may
lead to a relatively lower threshold for feelings of loneliness.
Individuals in this context may be inclined to develop unfulfilled
expectations for social connection and affiliation, which in turn
may result in particularly salient negative emotional responses.
Thus, the rural, group-oriented context may make children highly
sensitive to social difficulties and vulnerable to feelings of loneliness. In contemporary urban society, children may become resilient to social and psychological distress because they are encouraged to develop self-direction and self-confidence, which may help
them develop competence in managing adverse socioemotional
experiences. There is evidence indicating that urban individuals
have displayed increasingly optimistic attitudes about their lives
over the past decades and that urban youth are more self-confident
(e.g., “I don’t care what other people think of me. As long as I am
happy with myself, that’s all that matters.”) than rural youth in
China (Chen & Chen, 2010; Pew Research Center, 2005; Way et
al., 2013). Thus, in keeping with the argument made by Chen et al.
(2004), we expected to find that, relative to their counterparts in
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earlier time periods or in rural regions, recent cohorts of children
in urban regions would be less likely to report feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction.
Social Functioning and Loneliness
We were interested in how social functioning was associated
with loneliness in different contexts. Examining the associations
might shed light on loneliness of children with different behavioral
characteristics at the individual level and on the context-specific
relevance of social functioning to the experience of loneliness.
Among the major aspects of social functioning, researchers have
been interested in sociability-cooperation, aggression, and shyness
(e.g., Masten et al., 1995). In the literature (e.g., Rubin, Bukowski,
& Parker, 2006), sociability-cooperation is generally considered an
indication of social competence, representing the ability to act
effectively and appropriately in various situations. The instrumental and emotional support that sociable-cooperative children obtain
in social interactions enhances their feelings of security and helps
them cope with psychological difficulties (e.g., Masten, Burt, &
Coatsworth, 2006). Thus, we hypothesized that sociablecooperative behavior would be negatively associated with loneliness across contexts in our study.
Mixed results have been found in Western societies concerning
the association between aggression and loneliness; aggressive children, particularly in elementary school ages, reported greater loneliness than did others in some studies (e.g., Cassidy & Asher,
1992; Ladd & Burgess, 1999; Mesman, Bongers, & Koot, 2001)
but not in other studies (e.g., Mercer & DeRosier, 2008; Palmen,
Vermande, Deković, & van Aken, 2011). It has been argued that
some aggressive children may develop biased self-perceptions or
obtain social approval from similarly deviant peers (Cairns &
Cairns, 1994; Dodge, Coie, & Lynam, 2006). In China, aggressive
behavior is strongly prohibited, and many social constraints stem
from this prohibition (Chen & French, 2008). From the early years,
children are taught to control their frustration, anger, and defiant
behaviors. Aggressive behavior, including bullying and cyberbullying, has increased in recent years, and aggressive children might
form cliques and social support systems (e.g., Cheng et al., 2010).
In general, however, aggressive behavior is still regarded as highly
problematic, and aggressive children are likely to be rejected by
their peers across different regions and times (e.g., Chen, Cen, Li,
& He, 2005; Guo, Wang, & Chang, 2005). Moreover, in Chinese
schools, children are required to engage in regular public sessions
in which they evaluate themselves in terms of whether their
behavior and performance meet the school standards. Peers and
teachers then provide feedback on the children’s self-evaluations.
This public interactive process makes it difficult for aggressive
children to receive social approval or to develop biased or inflated
self-perceptions of their competence (e.g., Chen et al., 2004).
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