Two forms of rough-and-tumble play (R&T/Chase and R&T/Rough) were
observed in a group of young adolescent boys while they were on the playground
during their school recess period. Although little variation was observed for the
R&T/Chase category, sociometrically defined average and rejected boys,
compared to popular boys, spent a significant portion of their time in
R&T/Rough. This latter form of R&T was, in turn, related to
aggression and perspective-taking status for rejected boys; it was related to
dominance status for all boys. Additionally, rejected and average boys chose to
engage in R&T/Rough with children who were less dominant than they.
R&T/Chase was not reliably correlated with other measures. These findings
are interpreted as supporting the claim that some children exploit play bouts for
their own dominance-exhibition ends.
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