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The main purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the construct of playfulness in school aged children by examining associations between playfulness and adaptive behaviors, humor, and temperament. A secondary aim of this study was to explore the predictive role of early pretend play ability on current playfulness. It was hypothesized that playfulness would positively relate to the capacity to problem solve, regulate affect, and effectively communicate emotions. In addition, playfulness was expected to positively relate to humor and adaptive temperament styles. Pretend play processes were expected to predict playfulness four years later. Forty three children in fourth through sixth grades were administered validated measures of coping, emotion regulation, emotion expression, sense of humor, and temperament. Playfulness was assessed using both parent and teacher report forms of the Child Behaviors Inventory of Playfulness (CBI; Rogers, et al., 1998). Pretend play was assessed with the Affect in Play Scale (APS; Russ, 2004) four and five years prior to data collection. As hypothesized parent reported playfulness significantly related to active coping, emotion regulation, a willingness to express emotions, and the affiliation category of temperament. Inconsistent with hypotheses, teachers’ perceptions of playfulness related to low use of coping strategies and were not associated with adaptive behaviors. The CBI teacher report form was not considered an adequate measure of playfulness for school aged children. It remains unclear how the construct of playfulness relates to early pretend play abilities. As expected, imagination and organization in early pretend play predicted current emotion regulation abilities. The best predictors of parent reported playfulness were affiliation and verbal intelligence. For teachers, the best predictors of playfulness were grade level and lack of using avoidant coping strategies. Parent and teacher ratings of playfulness were not related to one another. Teachers were not adequate reporters of playfulness among school aged children. Results support early pretend play as a predictor of later emotion regulation abilities and variables of humor. Recommendations are made to develop a self-report measure of playfulness for school aged children.

Children endorsing anxiety traits can potentially use play as a way to experience, access, and adjust to positive and negative emotional experiences. The present study investigated the relationship between play skills and anxiety in young school-aged children. Forty-three children were randomly assigned to either an anxious mood induction condition or control condition.Results of this study indicated the anxious and control groups did not differ in play processes following the mood manipulation procedure. Overall, children in both conditions had significantly better play scores following the mood manipulation procedure when compared to baseline. In addition, a significant negative correlation was found between self-reported state anxiety and baseline Organization scores. Within the anxious mood induction condition, grade acted as a significant moderator on participant’s baseline and post-mood induction play scores. Third graders had significantly more organization, imagination, comfort, and affect in their play when compared to first and second grade children.