The behavior of seven depressed and seven nondepressed 3- to 6-year-olds was compared in three play situations: solitary free play, interactive free play, and play narratives. Depressed children played significantly less than their nondepressed controls. This was mainly due to differences in symbolic play. The groups did not differ with regard to manipulative play. The differences between depressed and nondepressed children varied across play situations. Depressed children showed significantly more nonplay behavior than their nondepressed counterparts. In addition, the behavior of depressed children showed less coherence than the behavior of the nondepressed children. Finally, mood induction proved to have no differential effect on the play behavior of depressed and nondepressed children.
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