Does Peer Group Membership Relate to Sociodramatic Play Outcomes? A Social Ethological Approach

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Peers and Family as Context of Development

Abstract

Sociodramatic play can have great value for young children’s learning and development. Although this type of social play, by definition, occurs in groups, most research has sought to understand SDP by focusing on individual factors. Little work has considered the role of the peer group for SDP engagement. Using hierarchical cluster analyses, chi-square tests, and multiple regression, this concurrent correlational study investigated relations between types of peer group membership and the amount of diverse Head Start children’s SDP engagement. Findings indicated that membership in a highly cohesive peer subgroup may be important for SDP, and illustrate how social ethological perspectives can be useful for considering social play in early childhood.

Author

• Caitlin T. Malloy, University of Massachusetts - Boston