A Correlational Study of a Test of Playfulness and a Test of Environmental Supportiveness for Play

Abstract

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Test of Environmental Supportiveness (TOES), as well as correlated data from the Test of Play fulness (ToP) and the TOES. Correlation coefficients for a sample of children with disabilities were compared with coefficients from a sample of typically developing children. Data from 160 children and their environments were used. Following a 15-minute observation of free play, raters, using the ToP, assessed children for playfulness and using the TOES, assessed the environments in which they played for supportiveness. Rater reliability and person response validity met acceptable goodness of fit criteria for the Rasch Measurement model. Scale validity fell below the desired fit because of the failure of one item (space is physically safe) to fit the measurement model. A positive, significant correlation was found between playfulness and environmental supportiveness. The magnitude of the relationship was greater for the typically developing children than it was for the children with disabilities.