| Twenty-six parents and their children (18 boys, 8 girls, M age = 49.6 months, age range: 36 to 64 months) from two mid-western childcare centers participated in the current study. Children's levels of play and emotional and behavioral reactions to negatively arousing situations were observed during free play at their childcare centers. Parents reported their children's daily behavioral reactions as they relate to temperamental constructs proposed to underlie emotion regulation. One purpose of the current study was to extend the scarce research in this area by examining preschoolers' emotion regulation, emotion-related behavioral regulation, and negative affect as they relate to complexity or level of play with methodology not previously used. A second purpose of the study was to further our understanding of emotion-related developmental factors in the context of play in order to inform early identification and intervention efforts. It was predicted that higher levels of parent-reported emotion regulation (i.e., attentional control), emotion-related behavioral regulation (i.e., inhibitory control), and lower levels of negative affect (i.e., anger/frustration and sadness) would be associated with higher levels of observed play in preschoolers. Support for these hypotheses was not found here. However, important and detailed information obtained from observations in the context of play are discussed in terms of implications for early childhood professionals and numerous directions for future research. |
