While both positive and negative peer interactions have long been a focus of scientific interest, much less attention has been given to children who tend to refrain from interacting with peers. This volume brings together leading authorities to review progress in understanding the development, causes, and consequences of shyness and social withdrawal. Compelling topics include: (1) The interplay of biological, psychological, family, and interpersonal processes in shyness and social withdrawal from infancy through adolescence; (2) The impact on peer relationships and academic performance; (3) Links among shyness, social withdrawal, and social anxiety disorder; (4) The positive side of unsociability--when to "leave children alone"; and Implications for clinical practice and educational interventions. This book is divided into five parts. Part I, Introduction, includes: (1) Social Withdrawal and Shyness in Childhood: History, Theories, Definitions, and Assessments (Robert J. Coplan and Kenneth H. Rubin). Part II, Constructs and Conceptual Approaches, includes: (2) Understanding Shyness: Four Questions and Four Decades of Research (Louis A. Schmidt and Arnold H. Buss); (3) Shyness and the Development of Embarrassment and the Self-Conscious Emotions (W. Ray Crozier); (4) Unsociability and the Preference for Solitude in Childhood (Robert J. Coplan and Murray Weeks); and (5) Biological Moderators of Infant Temperament and Its Relation to Social Withdrawal (Nathan A. Fox and Bethany C. Reeb-Sutherland). Part III, Personal and Interpersonal Processes, includes: (6) Shyness, Parenting, and Parent-Child Relationships (Paul D. Hastings, Jacob N. Nuselovici, Kenneth H. Rubin, and Charissa S. L. Cheah); (7) Social Withdrawal in Childhood and Adolescence: Peer Relationships and Social Competence (Kenneth H. Rubin, Julie Bowker, and Heidi Gazelle); and (8) Long-Term Development of Shyness: Looking Forward and Looking Backward (Jens B. Asendorpf). Part IV, Contexts, includes: (9) Language Performance, Academic Performance, and Signs of Shyness: A Comprehensive Review (Mary Ann Evans); (10) Shyness-Inhibition in Childhood and Adolescence: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (Xinyin Chen); (11) Electronic Communication: Escape Mechanism or Relationship-Building Tool for Shy, Withdrawn Children and Adolescents? (Barry H. Schneider and Yair Amichai-Hamburger); and (12) "Once Upon a Time There Were a Blushful Hippo and a Meek Mouse": A Content Analysis of Shy Characters in Young Children's Storybooks (Robert J. Coplan, Kathleen Hughes, and Hilary Claire Rowsell). Part V, Clinical Research, Practice, and Treatment, includes: (13) Temperament and the Etiology of Social Phobia (Ronald M. Rapee); and (14) Treating Social Anxiety in Youth (Matthew P. Mychailyszyn, Jeremy S. Cohen, Julie M. Edmunds, Sarah A. Crawley, and Philip C. Kendall).