Cambridge: New research suggests that children who learn to play nice with others at an early age have better mental health as adults.
The findings of the research were published in the journal ‘Child Psychiatry and Human Development’.
the researchers Cambridge University analyzed data from nearly 1,700 children when they were between three and seven years old. Those with better peer play ability at age three showed fewer signs of persistently poor mental health after four years. They had less hyperactivity, parents and teachers reported fewer emotional problems, and they were less likely to have fights or disagreements with other children.
Importantly, this association was generally true even when the researchers focused on subgroups of children who were particularly at risk of mental health problems. This also applied when they considered other risk factors for mental health – such as poverty level, or cases in which the mother experienced severe psychological distress during or immediately after pregnancy.
Findings suggest that giving young children who may be vulnerable to mental health issues access to well-supported opportunities to play with peers – for example, in a playgroup run by early years experts – may be a way to significantly benefit their long-term mental health. ,
Doctor jenny gibsonFrom the Center for Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal) education DepartmentUniversity of Cambridge, said: “We think this connection exists because through play with others, children gain the skills to form strong friendships as they grow up and start school. Even though they are at risk of poor mental health. Ho, those friendship networks will often get through to them.”
Vicki Yiran Zhao, PhD student at Pedal and first author of the study, said: “What matters is the quality, rather than quantity, of peer play. Games with peers that encourage children to collaborate, for example, or activities There will be positive benefits from sharing activities that promote this.”
Researchers used data from 1,676 children Increasing in that Australia The study, which is tracking the development of children born in Australia between March 2003 and February 2004. This includes a record, provided by parents and caregivers, of how well the children played in a variety of situations by age three. It includes a variety of peer play, including simple games; imaginative pretend play; goal-directed activities (such as building a tower out of blocks); and collaborative games like hide-and-seek.
These four peer play indicators were used to create a measure of ‘peer play ability’ – a child’s inherent ability to engage with peers in a playful manner. Researchers calculated the strength of the relationship between that measure and reported symptoms of potential mental health problems — hyperactivity, conduct, emotional and peer problems — at age seven.
The study then analyzed two subgroups of children within the overall group. These were children with high ‘reactivity’ (children who were very easily upset and found it difficult to calm down in childhood), and children with low ‘persistence’ (children who struggled perseverance when faced with a challenging task). Both of these symptoms are associated with poor mental health outcomes.
Across the dataset, children with higher peer play ability at age three consistently showed fewer signs of mental health difficulties at age seven. For every unit increase in peer play ability at age three, children’s measured scores for hyperactivity problems declined by 8.4 percent at age seven, conduct problems by 8 percent, emotional problems by 9.8 percent and peer problems. declined by 14 percent. This applies regardless of potential confounding factors such as poverty level and maternal distress, and whether or not they have plenty of opportunities to play with siblings and parents.
The effect was also evident in at-risk groups. Specifically, among the 270 children in the ‘low persistence’ category, those who were better at playing with peers at age three consistently had less hyperactivity and fewer emotional and peer problems at age seven. This may be because peer play often forces children to problem-solve and approach unexpected challenges, and therefore directly addresses less persistence.
The benefits of peer play were weak for the highly reactive sub-group, possibly because such children are often anxious and withdrawn, and less willing to play with others. However, even among this group, better peer play at age three was associated with less activation at age seven.
The consistent association between peer play and mental health probably exists because playing with others supports the development of emotional self-control and social-cognitive skills, such as the ability to understand and respond to other people’s emotions. These are fundamental to building stable, mutual friendships.
There is already good evidence that the better a person’s social interactions, the better their mental health. For children, more social interactions also create a virtuous circle, as they usually provide more opportunities to play with peers.
The researchers suggest that assessing children’s access to peer play at an early age could be used to screen people at potential risk of mental health problems in the future. They also argue that providing families with at-risk children access to environments that promote high-quality peer play, such as playgroups or small group care with professional childminders, is easily deliverable and less Could be a cost-effective way. Mental health problems later.
“The standard proposal at this time is to put parents on a parenting course,” Gibson said. “We can focus more on giving kids better opportunities to meet and play with their peers. There are already great initiatives across the country, run by professionals who provide a really high level of service Our findings show how important their work is, especially given that other risk factors that put children’s mental health at risk can often occur in circumstances beyond their parent’s control.”
The findings of the research were published in the journal ‘Child Psychiatry and Human Development’.
the researchers Cambridge University analyzed data from nearly 1,700 children when they were between three and seven years old. Those with better peer play ability at age three showed fewer signs of persistently poor mental health after four years. They had less hyperactivity, parents and teachers reported fewer emotional problems, and they were less likely to have fights or disagreements with other children.
Importantly, this association was generally true even when the researchers focused on subgroups of children who were particularly at risk of mental health problems. This also applied when they considered other risk factors for mental health – such as poverty level, or cases in which the mother experienced severe psychological distress during or immediately after pregnancy.
Findings suggest that giving young children who may be vulnerable to mental health issues access to well-supported opportunities to play with peers – for example, in a playgroup run by early years experts – may be a way to significantly benefit their long-term mental health. ,
Doctor jenny gibsonFrom the Center for Play in Education, Development and Learning (Pedal) education DepartmentUniversity of Cambridge, said: “We think this connection exists because through play with others, children gain the skills to form strong friendships as they grow up and start school. Even though they are at risk of poor mental health. Ho, those friendship networks will often get through to them.”
Vicki Yiran Zhao, PhD student at Pedal and first author of the study, said: “What matters is the quality, rather than quantity, of peer play. Games with peers that encourage children to collaborate, for example, or activities There will be positive benefits from sharing activities that promote this.”
Researchers used data from 1,676 children Increasing in that Australia The study, which is tracking the development of children born in Australia between March 2003 and February 2004. This includes a record, provided by parents and caregivers, of how well the children played in a variety of situations by age three. It includes a variety of peer play, including simple games; imaginative pretend play; goal-directed activities (such as building a tower out of blocks); and collaborative games like hide-and-seek.
These four peer play indicators were used to create a measure of ‘peer play ability’ – a child’s inherent ability to engage with peers in a playful manner. Researchers calculated the strength of the relationship between that measure and reported symptoms of potential mental health problems — hyperactivity, conduct, emotional and peer problems — at age seven.
The study then analyzed two subgroups of children within the overall group. These were children with high ‘reactivity’ (children who were very easily upset and found it difficult to calm down in childhood), and children with low ‘persistence’ (children who struggled perseverance when faced with a challenging task). Both of these symptoms are associated with poor mental health outcomes.
Across the dataset, children with higher peer play ability at age three consistently showed fewer signs of mental health difficulties at age seven. For every unit increase in peer play ability at age three, children’s measured scores for hyperactivity problems declined by 8.4 percent at age seven, conduct problems by 8 percent, emotional problems by 9.8 percent and peer problems. declined by 14 percent. This applies regardless of potential confounding factors such as poverty level and maternal distress, and whether or not they have plenty of opportunities to play with siblings and parents.
The effect was also evident in at-risk groups. Specifically, among the 270 children in the ‘low persistence’ category, those who were better at playing with peers at age three consistently had less hyperactivity and fewer emotional and peer problems at age seven. This may be because peer play often forces children to problem-solve and approach unexpected challenges, and therefore directly addresses less persistence.
The benefits of peer play were weak for the highly reactive sub-group, possibly because such children are often anxious and withdrawn, and less willing to play with others. However, even among this group, better peer play at age three was associated with less activation at age seven.
The consistent association between peer play and mental health probably exists because playing with others supports the development of emotional self-control and social-cognitive skills, such as the ability to understand and respond to other people’s emotions. These are fundamental to building stable, mutual friendships.
There is already good evidence that the better a person’s social interactions, the better their mental health. For children, more social interactions also create a virtuous circle, as they usually provide more opportunities to play with peers.
The researchers suggest that assessing children’s access to peer play at an early age could be used to screen people at potential risk of mental health problems in the future. They also argue that providing families with at-risk children access to environments that promote high-quality peer play, such as playgroups or small group care with professional childminders, is easily deliverable and less Could be a cost-effective way. Mental health problems later.
“The standard proposal at this time is to put parents on a parenting course,” Gibson said. “We can focus more on giving kids better opportunities to meet and play with their peers. There are already great initiatives across the country, run by professionals who provide a really high level of service Our findings show how important their work is, especially given that other risk factors that put children’s mental health at risk can often occur in circumstances beyond their parent’s control.”