McLeod, Lori J.2025-07-042025-07-042000https://hdl.handle.net/1828/22462This exploratory study examined the effects of stress and resilience on young children by using observations and interviews to compare the play tactics and perceived competence of 3 8 four and five year old children according to the stress levels of their families. After determining the number of stressful life events and circumstances experienced, children were categorized into low stress (three or fewer life stressors) and high stress (four or more life stressors) groups. They were then categorized into one of four groups based on adjustment ratings completed by parents and teachers: low stress, stress-resilient children (LS-SR); low stress, stress-affected children (LS-SA); high stress, stress-resilient children (HS-SR); and high stress, stress-affected children (HS-SA). All of the children engaged in episodes of social exchange with peers more than any other type of play. Episodes of social pretend play found in the observations were then examined for specific tactics used to enter, initiate, sustain, and end the play. Three quarters of the high stress children engaged in social pretend play as compared to only half of the low stress children. All of the groups used both indirect and direct entry tactics and had relatively positive responses from peers. Most of the children just started to play, a social pretend play initiation tactic found frequently in the play of 3 to 5 year old children. The social pretend play dialogues of the HS-SR children were the longest and their dialogues had the highest rate of shared personal experiences. The majority of the social pretend play episode themes involved fantasy play. There were no detectable patterns in the termination tactics used by the children to end their social pretend play episodes. The children were interviewed about their attitudes towards play and the tactics they use while playing. The majority of children had a positive attitude towards play. The low stress children chose home most frequently as their preferred play site as compared to the high stress children, who chose school most frequently. Thirty eight percent of the HS-SA children responded that they liked to play alone all the time. Interestingly, none of the other children in the study chose playing alone all the time as a preference. When asked about the strategies they would use in a play dilemma, children from each of the groups had suggestions that were considered negative. Lastly, the self-perceptions of the participating children were assessed and there were no significant differences found between the scores of the low and high stress groups and no significant differences found between the scores of the LS-SR, LS-SA, HS-SR, and HS-SA groups. Although the social pretend play tactics of the low stress, stress-resilient children and the high stress, stress-resilient children were more developed in this study, the limited sample sizes and the limited data collection period illustrate the need to interpret these results cautiously. Additionally, data trends that were both consistent (e.g., stress-resilient children having more developed play tactics) and inconsistent (e.g., no differences in the perceived competence of low and high stress children) with other research show the need for further, more detailed research in the area of play and more notably, self-perceptions. Given the potentially damaging effects of stress (Honig, 1986) and the positive findings of resilience research (Bloom, 1996; Werner, 1990), further studies are needed to explore more comprehensively whether or not there is a correlation between the levels of stress and the resilient behaviours of young children.enAvailable to the World Wide WebThesis