A psychology major explores the cultural and generational differences that influence parents’ perceptions of their children’s risky, outdoor play experiences.
CELEBRATE! Week offers an annual opportunity to highlight the academic and artistic achievements of Elon students and faculty. Each day this week, we’ll be putting the spotlight on a student scholar’s research — what they are seeking to find out, and who they became interested in their project.
Name: Caroline Dean
Area of study: Risk-Taking, Failure, and Resiliency
Major: Psychology
Minor: Neuroscience
Faculty mentor: Maureen Vandermaas-Peeler, professor of psychology
Title of research: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Parents’ Beliefs about Outdoor and Risky Play
Abstract:
The main purpose of this study was to compare parents’ perceptions of risky play in a cross-cultural context. Risk is an important component of outdoor play, but often overlooked in childhood development.
This study is a unique comparison of two cultural groups, United States-American and first-generation Guatemalan immigrants. Past studies have identified how parents view play in Guatemala and how Guatemalan family structures are altered after coming to the United States, but no studies have specifically examined parental beliefs about risk and outdoor play (Cooney, 2004; Menjívar, 2012).
Thirty-one parents (15 Guatemalan-Immigrant and 16 United States – American) with a preschooler in the Early Head Start program participated in an interview at home. Interview topics included parents’ beliefs and attitudes about children’s play, risk-taking and the outdoors.
The findings suggest that most parents reflected on their childhood experiences as being more ‘free’ than their children’s experiences and expressed heightened concern for safety in outdoor play. Supporting Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory (Niehues et al. 2013), parents’ prior experiences with characteristics of risky play influenced their willingness to afford such opportunities to their children. Findings from the study suggest the importance of cultural contexts and societal attitudes concerning risky play in natural environments.
In other words:
My research was designed to investigate the cultural and generational differences that influence parents’ perceptions of their children’s risky, outdoor play experiences.
Explanation of study:
Parents from Early Head Start were interviewed in their homes with the researcher and their home visitor from the program.
The researcher conducted one interview per participant that lasted 30 to 60 minutes (depending on length of responses to the questions). All interview material was translated into Spanish by two Early Head Start home visitors, with consideration for dialect and meaning within the Guatemalan community. All G-I parent interviews were conducted in dialect by the Guatemalan home visitors to account for language differences. Each interview was audio-recorded for subsequent data analysis.
Parents were asked a series of questions related to children’s play, risk and adventure, and the natural world. The first part of the interview was designed to address the first research question of how parents describe their beliefs about risky play and outdoor play experiences.
The second interview component was designed to investigate the second research question of whether parents’ experiences with risky, outdoor play influenced their beliefs about providing such play affordances for their child. The interviewer asked parents to determine the level of risk portrayed in a series of pictures adapted from Sandseter’s categories of risky play (2009). They also reported the approximate age at which they may have engaged in the play, and at what approximate age they would afford their child the same opportunity. The last interview component explored the third research question investigating parents’ beliefs concerning the integration of play within children’s play routines.
What made this research interesting to you? How did you get started?
The phrase “risky play” fascinated me when I first started exploring early childhood developmental literature.
As a child growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, I was always encouraged to participate in challenging, exciting forms of outdoor play. I was shocked when I learned more about the scarcity of nature play in children’s experiences in the United States.
Risky play was particularly interesting to me because it involved children’s abilities to challenge themselves, make tough decisions, and be innovative in their environments. By nature, risky play involves forms of cognitive, social, and emotional development that are unique from other forms of play. These combined factors encouraged me to pursue extensive research on the topics of risk-taking and play in young children.
My interest in the subjects of risk, failure, and resilience then grew to embody much more than children’s play experiences. I became interested in how college students engaged in similar thought processes and experiences through risk-taking and failure.
Over my last two years at Elon, several other students and I have embarked on a “passion project” of encouraging students to talk about their failures through an initiative called “Phoenix Flops.” This project has been incredibly rewarding and I have loved exploring the topics of risk, failure and resilience across multiple age groups and life experiences.