DiLalla, L.F., Nielson, L., Rubenzahl, S., & Gelbach, B. (1995). Preschooler free play behaviors are related to parental ratings of problem behaviors. Poster presented to the American Psychological Society, June, NY.

A more thorough understanding of preschooler’s play behaviors with peers should provide additional insight into which behaviors become problematic in peer relationships. The present project assessed cooperative and aggressive behaviors in preschoolers during unstructured free play. Ninety-two 5-year-old children were brought in pairs into a laboratory playroom and were allowed to play freely for twenty minutes while parents completed questionnaires on the children’s behavior problems and temperaments. Results showed that the constellation of behaviors that made up aggressive and prosocial behaviors was different when peers were unfamiliar (during the first 10 minutes of the session) versus when they became more familiar with each other (during the second 10 minutes of the session). Commanding was linked with negative behaviors during the unfamiliar phase and with positive behaviors during the familiar phase. In addition, behaviors in the free play situation during the unfamiliar phase were predictive of parent ratings of behavior problems, especially for boys. These results suggest that aggressive preschool play behaviors with unfamiliar peers may be indicative of more general problem behaviors for boys.