Halliday, A., Kola‐Palmer, S., Davis, P. orcid.org/0000-0002-0043-9991 et al. (2 more authors) (2023) Childhood fantasy play relates to adult socio-emotional competence. Infant and Child Development, 32 (5). e2451. ISSN 1522-7227
Abstract
Childhood fantasy play and creation of imaginary companions are thought to confer socio-emotional benefits in children, but little is known about how they relate to socio-emotional competence in adulthood. A total of 341 adults (81 males) aged 18 and above (M = 31.47, SD = 12.62) completed an online survey examining their fantasy play as a child, their childhood imaginary companion status, and their adult socio-emotional competence. Adults who reported higher levels of childhood fantasy play were found to be significantly more prosocial, empathetic, and emotionally intelligent than their counterparts after controlling for demographic factors. Recall of a childhood imaginary companion, however, was significantly related only to higher scores for perspective-taking and did not explain unique variance in any adult competence measure. Findings suggest that engagement in fantasy play during childhood may be a precursor to later socio-emotional competence, while benefits previously associated with imaginary companions specifically may not extend into adulthood.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2023 The Authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0). |
Keywords: | childhood play, fantasy play, imaginary companions, socio-emotional development |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Medicine and Health (Leeds) > School of Psychology (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 10 Jul 2024 14:05 |
Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2024 14:05 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/icd.2451 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214330 |