Citation

Pellegrini AD. Early Child Res. Q. 1989; 4(2): 245-260.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1989, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S0885-2006(89)80006-7

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The intent of this study was to describe elementary school children's rough-and-tumble play (R&T) vis-à-vis aggression, and to provide exploratory data on the functional significance of R&T. Children in grades K, 2, and 4 were observed during their playground school recess periods. Results suggested that the incidence of R&T varied according to the sex of the child and playground location; it accounted for 11% of children's play behaviors. Aggression rarely occurred (0.3%) and did not vary by age, sex, or playground location. These descriptive results are discussed in terms of providing ecologically valid data on children's R&T vis-à-vis aggression. R&T was also found to lead to games-with-rules and to be positively correlated, for boys, with measures of social competence. These functional results are discussed in terms of the social skills function of R&T.