%0 Journal Article
%T Children¡¯s Perceptions of Their Play: Scale Development and Validation
%A Lynn A. Barnett
%J Child Development Research
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/284741
%X A wealth of research has been conducted on children¡¯s play, yet the vast majority has relied on others¡¯ accounts to define, describe, and characterize their play. This study presents a successful effort to generate a scale to measure third through fifth grade children¡¯s perceptions of their play. Items were generated from children¡¯s unrestricted accounts of how they viewed their play, and the reliability (internal consistency, stability), content, and construct (convergent and discriminant) validity of the Children¡¯s Perceptions of Their Play (CPTP) scale were all high. Across two independent samples, children defined their play in terms of six factors: opportunities to choose what to do and with whom (Child¡¯s Choice), play interactions with friends (Social Play), structured recreation activities in which they chose to participate (Planned Activities), their involvement and absorption in play (Engagement), how physically active they are (Active Play), and freedom from school obligations when they were able to play as they desired (Free Time). No differences between boys and girls, the three grade levels, or children attending public versus private school were found. 1. Introduction 1.1. Recent Theoretical Conceptions of Play Modern theories of play¡ªthose that arose during the mid- to late twentieth century¡ªtry to explain the role of play across the various ages and in relation to different aspects of child development. For example, the Psychoanalytic Theory of play relates predominantly to children¡¯s emotional development and posits that the function of play is to help the child cope with the negative feelings that arise from unpleasant or traumatic events in the environment [1]. The theory holds that this cathartic function is critical to the developing child because of an immature ability to possess coping mechanisms to mitigate or adapt to the stressor. Erikson¡¯s [2] extension of Psychoanalytic Theory to normal personality development suggests that individuals pass through stages wherein their ability to master the demands of reality leads to their resolution of a psychosocial issue paramount at each developmental stage. Cognitive theories presented a major shift in theorizing about play in directing research toward the development of children¡¯s thinking processes and intellectual development. Piaget¡¯s [3] developmental theory suggests that children progress through a series of distinct phases in their thought processes that increasingly approach those of adults. According to his theory, children engage in types of play that mirror their current
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdr/2013/284741/