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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Playing with peers is one of the most important contexts for the
acquisition of social competencies in early childhood. This study
examined the relation between children’s play behavior, social
acceptance in the peer group, and number of reciprocal
friendships. One hundred and twenty eight children, aged between
three and five years, participated in the study. Social acceptance
and number of reciprocal friendships were assessed using two
sociometric measures: nomination and comparison among peers.
Children’s behavior during play activities was assessed by a
Portuguese version of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Global
results showed positive and significant correlations between
positive interaction and sociometric measures, indicating that
children who manifest positive play behaviors are more accepted
by peers and have more reciprocal friendships. On the other hand,
play disruption and disconnection were negatively correlated with
sociometric measures, indicating that children who show these
types of play behaviors have lower social acceptance and fewer
reciprocal friendships. Parsing the correlations by the three age
groups, results show distinct patterns of associations between
quality of play, social acceptance and friendship in function of age.
Our results stress that already at an early age, behavior during play
is related to friendship and social reputation.
Description
Keywords
Peer play Ludic activities Social acceptance Reciprocal friendships
Citation
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 25(6), 812-823. Doi: 10.1080/1350293X.2017.1380879
Publisher
Taylor & Francis