Play and social skills in maltreated and non-maltreated preschoolers during peer interactions☆

Abstract

Objective: The goal of the study was to investigate whether maltreated children differ from nonmaltreated children with regard to their social skills and play behaviors.Method: The social skills and free-play behaviors of 30 3- to 5-year-old maltreated and nonmaltreated children were compared. Fifteen children with a range of maltreatment experiences drawn from a hospital-based therapeutic nursery treatment program and 15 demographically similar children drawn from a home-based Head Start program participated in the study. All children were of low socioeconomic status. Children’s free-play peer interactions were videotaped during the first 3 months of attendance in either program and analyzed along social and cognitive dimensions. Teachers and therapists rated children’s social skills in peer interactions.Results: Maltreated children were found to have significantly poorer skill in initiating interactions with peers and maintaining self-control, as well as a greater number of problem behaviors. Significant differences were not found between groups with regard to social participation or cognitive level of play. Significant correlations of moderate strength were found between social participation in play and social skills for the sample as a whole: total social skills score was positively related to interactive play, and negatively related to solitary play.Conclusion: The results suggest that the experience of maltreatment has a negative impact on children’s developing interpersonal skills above and beyond the influence of factors associated with low socioeconomic status and other environmental stressors.