Hawes, M. T., Olino, T. M., & Klein, D. N. (2025). Early childhood behavioral inhibition predicts altered social and emotional functioning in early adulthood: An ecological momentary assessment study. Emotion, 25(4), 972–981. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001468
Key Takeaways
- Focus: This study explores how early childhood behavioral inhibition (BI), a tendency toward cautious behavior in new situations, impacts social and emotional functioning in early adulthood.
- Method: Researchers used ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methods to survey emotions and social interactions among 330 participants initially assessed at age 3 and later at age 18.
- Findings: Early childhood BI was linked to lower average positive emotions and increased anxiety following uncomfortable social interactions in young adulthood.
- Implications: Findings suggest childhood BI may result in lasting emotional patterns, influencing anxiety and social enjoyment, highlighting the importance of targeted interventions.
Rationale
Behavioral inhibition (BI) refers to a temperamental trait characterized by cautious, hesitant, or restrained behaviors when encountering new or unfamiliar people, situations, or environments.
Individuals who exhibit high BI tend to experience increased anxiety or fear in novel contexts and may appear shy or withdrawn, particularly when facing uncertainty or unfamiliarity.
This trait is often noticeable in early childhood and can influence emotional and social functioning into adulthood.
Previous studies primarily relied on retrospective self-reports, which can be biased, thus real-time data was needed.
Understanding how childhood BI affects young adults’ everyday emotional and social interactions helps clarify long-term developmental impacts and informs interventions.
Future research should explore these findings in more diverse populations and further investigate the mechanisms behind these enduring effects.
Method
The research combined laboratory behavioral observations and parental questionnaires at age 3.
At age 18, participants completed an EMA study, providing real-time emotional states and social experiences over two weeks via smartphone surveys.
Procedure:
- Participants completed laboratory tasks and parental questionnaires at age 3.
- At age 18, participants completed smartphone-based EMA surveys five times daily for 14 consecutive days, capturing emotional states and social interactions.
Sample:
- The study included 330 young adults, equally split by gender.
- Predominantly White (9% Hispanic, 2% Black, 2% Asian).
Measures:
- Behavioral Inhibition (BI): Laboratory tasks and parent reports assessing reactions to new stimuli.
- Emotion Variables: Surveys assessing current positive affect (happiness, excitement, cheerfulness, contentment) and negative affect (sadness, anxiety, irritation, upset).
- Social Interaction Variables: Reports on frequency and perceived quality (pleasantness, discomfort) of recent social interactions.
Statistical Measures:
- Aggregation of survey responses to examine typical emotion and interaction patterns.
- Multilevel regression analyses to explore relationships between BI and emotional reactions within individuals across different contexts.
Results
- Early childhood behavioral inhibition (BI) is correlated with lower average positive emotions in young adulthood.
- Individuals who displayed early BI showed increased anxious and negative emotional responses following less pleasant or uncomfortable social interactions in adulthood.
- Frequency of social interactions in adulthood did not differ significantly between those with early BI and those without.
Insight
The study provides detailed evidence that individuals who were cautious or hesitant as children continue to experience specific emotional challenges in adulthood, particularly heightened anxiety and negative feelings during socially uncomfortable situations.
This study is informative because it used real-time emotional tracking, offering clearer, more precise insights than retrospective self-reports.
These findings expand on previous research by confirming that the effects of childhood BI persist subtly into adulthood rather than diminishing entirely.
Future research could explore precisely why these emotional reactions persist, whether these patterns extend to virtual interactions, and how specific interventions might modify long-term emotional outcomes.
Clinical Implications
These findings could significantly inform therapeutic practices and policies, particularly for mental health professionals working with individuals exhibiting early BI.
Practitioners should focus on anxiety management techniques, such as cognitive-behavioral strategies, to help individuals cope better with negative social experiences.
Gradual exposure and social skills training could also encourage more positive engagement in social situations.
Policymakers might support the implementation of early interventions or school-based programs tailored to behaviorally inhibited children, aiming to reduce the long-term impact on emotional well-being.
Challenges might include effectively engaging resistant individuals and ensuring interventions are adaptable across diverse social settings.
Strengths
- Longitudinal study design (15-year span).
- Ecologically valid real-time emotional assessment.
- Multimethod measurement (observation and parent-report).
Limitations
- Homogeneous participant sample limiting generalizability.
- Reliance on self-reporting for EMA.
- Lack of data on nonsocial behavior and context distinctions (virtual vs. in-person).
Socratic Questions
- How might the outcomes differ if the study included a more diverse sample?
- Could virtual interactions influence outcomes differently from in-person interactions?
- What other factors might contribute to the persistence or change in behavioral inhibition over time?
- How might intervention strategies differ when addressing emotional vs. social outcomes related to BI?
- What further measures could clarify the connection between childhood BI and adult anxiety levels during novel situations?
