Childrearing practices associated with playfulness and Type A behavior in children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships among childrearing practices, children‘s levels of playfulness, and Type A behaviors. Parents of 83 children in grades kindergarten, two, and four completed a Q-sort on childrearing behaviors. The children‘s teachers completed rating scales for playfulness and Type A behaviors. Results indicated that there were no differences between males and females on playfulness or Type A behavior ratings. A difference was found between the three grades used in the study, with kindergarten children displaying the highest level of playfulness and second-graders displaying the lowest level of playfulness. In contrast, it was found that kindergarten children had the lowest rating of Type A behaviors while second-graders had the highest. Parenting styles were not found to differ according to the sex or grade level of the child. when childrearing behaviors were examined, results indicated that playful children had parents who used rational guidance, expressed affect, and were open to experience. Children who were low in playfulness had parents who emphasized early training and used control. When playfulness was analyzed according to specific definitional criteria it was found that parents who encouraged independence had children who were high in their use of pretense and free from external rules. Additionally, results showed that parents who used control and emphasized early training had children who were more literal in their play, more extrinsically motivated, and more bound to external rules. Similarly, parents who worried about their children had children who were more extrinsically motivated and bound by external rules. It was also found that parents who used negative affect had children who used literal rather than pretend behaviors in their play. The use of rational guidance in parenting was found to be positively related to children with Type A behaviors. It was found that children who were high in Type A behaviors displayed a high level of playfulness. Children high in Type A behaviors were found to be more actively involved in their play, use pretense more often than literal behaviors, V, and have a higher degree of involvement in the activity. A part of Type A behavior, impatience/aggression, was found to be high in children who were extrinsically motivated and more prone to play rather than explore.