Play, Well-being, and Psychopathology

J. Fortin

Excerpt from Cultivating Emotional Vulnerability through Play:  Perceptions of Early Childhood Educators in the United States, Portugal, and China thesis for EMJMD Erasmus Mundus Thesis.

For meaningful play to occur, Vygotsky (1978) found that there must be an emotional response attached to the experience. Without this link, experiences are merely activities, not play.  Feelings of connection and belonging are fostered by social interactions typical in joint play.  Foundational for happiness and good mental health, the joy of socializing through play facilitates emotional development (Panksepp, 2005; Whitebread et al., 2017), well-being (Marshall et al., 2015), and the formation of healthy relationships and social networks (Chernyshenko et al., 2018;  Vygotsky, 1978). Indeed, positive adjustment and well-being throughout life has been linked with  children’s opportunities to play (Singer, 2006; Howard & McInnes, 2012). While play supports  positive social and emotional development, a lack of play has contrarily been linked with adverse  social and emotional effects (Gray, 2011). By considering the adverse effects of limited play on  children’s well-being and mental health, the therapeutic and healing benefits of play are considered  with more urgency.  

A measured decline in children’s play opportunities has been linked with a rise in  psychopathology, including feelings of anxiety, depression, and narcissism among children in the United  States (Gray, 2011; Twenge et al., 2010). Such adverse effects outline humans psychological and  biological need for play more strongly than previous decades of research promoting it (Rentzou et  al., 2018; International Play Association [IPA], 2014). Connecting this continuous decline of  children's play opportunities with an increase in psychopathology, Gray (2011) outlined the drastic  and continuous decline of children's access and opportunities to play in the United States between 1981 and 1997.  

Among a large, representative group of parents in the United States, children were found to play less in 1997 and had less free time for self-chosen activities (Gray, 2011, citing Hofferth &  Sanberg, 2001). This decrease in freely chosen activities and play was linked to a general rise in  psychopathology (Gray, 2011, citing Twenge et al., 2010). From the 1950s, young  people in the United States were found to experience increased depression and anxiety along with  other psychological disorder scores which have “increased continually and dramatically” (Gray, 2011  p. 448, citing Twenge et al. 2010). Additional factors found to influence the rise of psychopathology  include social isolation and reduced sense of community, both of which were exacerbated in the  recent pandemic. As is well documented, greater social isolation is extensively linked with increased  levels of depression, decreased life satisfaction, and lower levels of psychological well-being (Clair et  al., 2021; Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2014). 

Although correlation does not prove causation, Gray (2011) argued that play has primarily  been studied in relation to its benefits on children's development, while the inverse has not been  studied enough. Arguing that if the "rise in anxiety and depression are linked to a decline in sense of  personal control, then play would seem to be the perfect remedy" (Gray, 2011, p. 454). By  considering both the benefits of play and detriment it’s lack may infer, advocating for children’s cross-cultural access to play opportunities, particularly of social nature, is vital.

References:

  • Cacioppo, J.T., Cacioppo, S. (2014). Social relationships and health: the toxic effects of perceived social isolation. Soc Personal Psychol Compass 8(2), 58–72. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12087

  • Chernyshenko, O., M. Kankaraš and F. Drasgow (2018). Social and emotional skills for student success and  wellbeing: Conceptual framework for the OECD study on social and emotional skills. OECD Education  Working Papers, No. 173, OECD Publishing. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/db1d8e59-en   

  • Clair, R., Gordon, M., Kroon, M., Reilly, C. (2021). The effects of social isolation on well-being and  life satisfaction during pandemic. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 8(28), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00710-3

  • Gray, P. (2011). The Decline of Play and the Rise of Psychopathology in Children and Adolescents. American Journal of Play, 3(4), 443-463.  

  • Hofferth, S. L., Sandberg, J. F. (2001). Changes in American children's time, 1981–1997. Advances in  Life Course Research, 6, 193-229. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1040-2608(01)80011-3

  • Howard, J., McInnes, K. (2012). The impact of children's perception of an activity as play rather  than not play on emotional well-being. Child: Care, Health and Development, 39(5), 737-742. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2214.2012.01405.x

  • International Play Association [IPA]. (2014). Declaration on the importance of play. Retrieved from:  https://ipaworld.org/ipa-declaration-on-the-importance-of-play/

  • Panksepp, J. (2005) Beyond a Joke: From animal laughter to human joy? Science, 308(5718), 62-63.  http://doi.org/10.1126/science.1112066

  • Rentzou, K., Slutsksy, R., Tuul, M., Gol-Guven, M., Kragh-Müller, G., Foerch, D. F., & Paz-Albo, J.  (2018). Preschool Teachers’ Conceptualizations and Uses of Play Across Eight Countries. Early Childhood Education Journal, (2019)47, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-018-0910-1  

  • Singer, J. L. (2006). Epilogue: Learning to Play and Learning Through Play In D. G. Singer, R.  M. Golinkoff, and K. Hirsh-Pasek (Eds.) Play = Learning: How Play Motivates and  Enhances Children’s Cognitive and Social-Emotional Growth. Oxford University Press, 251-262.

  • Twenge, J. M., Gentile, B., DeWall, N. C., Ma, D., Lacefield, K., Schurtz, D. R. (2010). Birth Cohort  Increases in Psychopathology Among Young Americans, 1938–2007: A Cross-Temporal  Meta-Analysis of the MMPI. Clinical Psychology Review 30(2), 145–54. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2009.10.005  

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard  University Press.    

  • Whitebread, D., Neale, D., Jensen, H., Lio, C., Solis, S. L., Hopkins, E., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J. 
    (2017). The role of play in children’s development: a review of the evidence. The LEGO Foundation.