The emergence and development of pretend play in a community sample of children: A longitudinal and mixed method investigation from infancy to early childhood

Robinson, Charlotte 2019. The emergence and development of pretend play in a community sample of children: A longitudinal and mixed method investigation from infancy to early childhood. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

This thesis investigated fundamental questions about the emergence and development of pretend play. This topic was primarily investigated in the context of the Cardiff Child Development Study (CCDS), a prospective longitudinal study of a nationally representative sample of first-time mothers and their children. In Chapter 2, I reviewed earlier literature that reports on the proportions/percentages of children who have been observed to show pretend play between the ages of 18 to 30 months. Not all children were reported to engage in pretend play, this was especially evident within the 18 to 23-month age bracket. The review highlighted methodological limitations of earlier studies. In Chapter 4 (Study 1), using data from the CCDS study, I investigated if there was almost universal emergence of pretend play between the ages of 17 and 24 months. I used a mixed method approach (direct observation of unstructured free play sessions combined with informant report questionnaire data) that was largely absent from the literature base. Displays of pretend play were identified using a new observational coding scheme I developed. Not all children displayed, or were reported to, engage in pretend play. Exposure to sociodemographic adversity was associated with reported pretend play capacity. In Chapter 5 (Study 2), I conducted a longitudinal analysis of children’s pretend play from infancy to early childhood. Video records of two identical free play sessions conducted during infancy and early childhood were examined for instances of pretend play using newly developed age-appropriate modules of the new observational coding scheme. Pretend play was observed around the time of the first birthday, in a minority of infants. Alongside a significant increase in displays of pretend play over time, in both the proportion of children displaying pretend play and in the frequency shown, it was found that infants who had displayed any pretend play, and those who engaged in more frequent pretend play in infancy, displayed more frequent pretend play in early childhood.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	20 April 2020
Date of Acceptance:	20 April 2020
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2021 01:23
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/131096

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