Pandemic Play: How are Children Playing During the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Why?

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Cognitive Processes

Abstract

Background: Pretense is a universal experience in early childhood that occurs across cultures, suggesting it serves an important function (Lillard, 2017). Theorists and researchers have long argued that pretend play is children’s way of making sense of their world (e.g., Elkind, 2016). Children often mimic the world around them during play, including unpleasant or traumatic experiences (e.g., Barnett & Storm, 1981). This suggests children may use pretend play to cope with stressful emotions and events in their lives (Goldstein & Russ, 2000). Based on this idea, play therapy is often used to help children cope with stressful and traumatic events (e.g., Cassell, 1965; Russ, 2007). The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused immeasurable changes to society broadly and drastically altered everyday experiences. In the present study, we explored how these changes have influenced children’s play and whether the presence of COVID-19 themes in play is related to children’s anxiety and worry about the pandemic.

Method: Parents (N=256) with a child between the ages of 3-6 participated in a nationwide survey on Qualtrics from May to July 2020. As part of a larger battery of questionnaires, parents completed the Child Behavior Scale – Anxiety/Fearfulness subscale (Ladd & Profilet, 1996). They also indicated how worried their child was about being infected with COVID-19 on a six-point scale from not at all to extremely. Finally, parents described their children’s play over the past several months, specifically noting the presence of any COVID-19 related themes.

Results: On the survey, 22% of parents reported their child had engaged in some form of COVID-19 related play since the beginning of the pandemic, in line with literature suggesting children represent current events in their play. Detailed descriptions of the play behaviors were reported, and qualitative examples will be included on our poster (Table 1). To better understand if this play was associated with pandemic-related stress, we conducted a series of t-tests to examine if there were differences between children who did not engage in COVID-19 related play and those who did on variables of pandemic worry and anxiety. Children who were reported to engage in COVID-19 related play were more worried about becoming infected (t(235) = 3.10, p < .01) and had higher levels of anxiety/fearfulness (t(198) = 2.85, p = .01) compared to those not reported to engage in COVID-19 play (Figure 1).

Conclusions: Although our data are cross-sectional in nature limiting our ability to make directional conclusions (i.e., does heightened anxiety lead to more COVID-19 play or does COVID-19 play lead to heightened anxiety), theory and extant literature suggest that children in the present study may be incorporating novel coronavirus themes, such as masks and quarantine restrictions, into their play as a method to cope with stress associated with the pandemic. We are currently collecting follow-up data from families to further investigate whether frequency and type of “pandemic play” is associated with changes in stress and anxiety over time. We will present these longitudinal findings with our poster in April.

Authors

• Alaina Wilson, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Presenting Author

• Rachel Thibodeau-Nielsen, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Shannon E Dier, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Rachel E White, Hamilton College
  Non-Presenting Author

• Francisco Palermo, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author