Playfulness is well researched in children; however, much less is known about its impact on the well-being of adults. To investigate the relationship between playfulness and well-being in Australian adults. Participants (N = 175) completed the Other-directed, Lighthearted, Intellectual, and Whimsical (OLIW) scale for playfulness and the Positive Emotion, Engagement, Relationship, Meaning, and Accomplishment (PERMA-Profiler) scale for well-being through an online survey. Multiple regression analyses with bootstrapping were completed to investigate whether playfulness predicted well-being. Six of the eight regression models analyzed contained significant predictors of well-being in adults. Adult playfulness exhibited the most robust positive relations with positive emotion, engagement while with others and during activities, relationships, finding meaning in one’s life, and overall well-being. Playfulness was significantly related to several different indicators of well-being in adults. Therefore, incorporating elements of playfulness during occupational engagement could potentially nurture an individual’s well-being.
American Occupational Therapy Association. (2014). Occupational therapy practice framework: Domain and process (3rd ed.). American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 68(Suppl.), S1–S48.
2.
AuneK. S.WongN. C. H. (2002). Antecedents and consequences of adult play in romantic relationships. Personal Relationships, 9(3), 279–286. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6811.00019
BaumC. M.BassJ. D.ChristiansenC. H. (2015). Theory, models, frameworks, and classifications. In ChristiansenC. H.BaumC. M.BassJ. D. (Eds.), Occupational therapy: Performance, participation, and well-being (4th ed., pp. 23–48). SLACK Incorporated.
5.
BundyA. C.LuckettT.NaughtonG. A.TranterP. J.WyverS. R.RagenJ.. . . SpiesG. (2008). Playful interaction: Occupational therapy for all children on the school playground. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 62(5), 522–527. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.62.5.522
6.
ButlerJ.KernM. L. (2016). The PERMA-profiler: A brief multidimensional measure of flourishing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 6(3), 1–48. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v6i3.526
7.
ChangE. C. (2017). Applying the broaden-and-build model of positive emotions to social problem solving: Does feeling good (vs. feeling bad) influence problem orientation, problem-solving skills, or both?Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 36(5), 380–395. https://doi.org/101521jscp2017365380
8.
ChangP-J.YarnalC.ChickG. (2016). The longitudinal association between playfulness and resilience in older women engaged in The Red Hat Society. Journal of Leisure Research Copyright, 48(3), 210–227. https://doi.org/10.18666/JLR-2016-V48-I3-6256
9.
ChangP-J.QianX.YarnalC. (2013). Using playfulness to cope with psychological stress: Taking into account both positive and negative emotions. International Journal of Play, 2(3), 273–296. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2013.855414
10.
ChoiB. (2016). An overview of bootstrapping method applicable to survey researches in rehabilitation science. Physical Therapy Korea, 23(2), 93–99. https://doi.org/10.12674/ptk.2016.23.2.093
11.
CohenB. H. (2008). Explaining psychological statistics (3rd ed.). John Wiley.
12.
CourtinE.KnappM. (2017). Social isolation, loneliness and health in old age: A scoping review. Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(3), 799–812. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.12311
DodgeR.DalyA.HuytonJ.SandersL. (2012). The challenge of defining wellbeing. International Journal of Wellbeing, 2(3), 222–235. https://doi.org/10.5502/ijw.v2i3.4
17.
EmersonH. (1998). Flow and occupation: A review of the literature. The Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65(1), 37–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/000841749806500105
GlynnM. A.WebsterJ. (1992). The adult playfulness scale: An initial assessment. Psychological Reports, 71(1), 83–103.
20.
GoswamiA.NairP.BeehrT.GrossenbacherM. (2016). The relationship of leaders’ humor and employees’ work engagement mediated by positive emotions. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 37(8), 1083–1099. https://doi.org/10.1108/LODJ-01-2015-0001
21.
GuitardP.FerlandF.DutilÉ. (2005). Toward a better understanding of playfulness in adults. OTJR: Occupation, Participation and Health, 25(1), 9–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/153944920502500103
22.
IsenA. M. (2001). An influence of positive affect on decision making in complex situations: Theoretical issues with practical implications. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 11(2), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327663JCP1102_01
23.
IsenA. M.DaubmanK. A.NowickiG. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(6), 1122–1131. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122
24.
KannenbergK.AminiD.HartmannK.DeLanyJ. (2010). Occupational therapy services in the promotion of psychological and social aspects of mental health. American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 64(6, Suppl.), S78–S91. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2010.64S78
25.
KimS.RathJ. F.ZemonV.CavalloM. M.McCratyR.SostreA.FoleyF. W. (2018). Problem solving, biofeedback, and severe brain injury: The moderating role of positive affect. Rehabilitation Psychology, 63(1), 148–154. https://doi.org/10.1037/rep0000197
LevyA.CartwrightT. (2015). Men’s strategies for preserving emotional well-being in advanced prostate cancer: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Psychology & Health, 30(10), 1164–1182. https://doi.org/10.1080/08870446.2015.1040016
28.
MagnusonC. D.BarnettL. A. (2013). The playful advantage: How playfulness enhances coping with stress. Leisure Sciences, 35(2), 129–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2013.761905
29.
MitasO.QianX. L.YarnalC.KerstetterD. (2011). “The fun begins now”: Broadening and building processes in Red Hat Society® participation. Journal of Leisure Research, 43(1), 30–55.
30.
PatersonT. S. E.YeungS. E.ThorntonW. L. (2016). Positive affect predicts everyday problem-solving ability in older adults. Aging & Mental Health, 20(8), 871–879. https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2015.1043619
31.
PerssonD. (1996). Play and flow in an activity group: A case study of creative occupations with chronic pain patients. Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 3(1), 33–42. https://doi.org/10.3109/11038129609106680
32.
PlesterB.HutchisonA. (2016). Fun times: The relationship between fun and workplace engagement. Employee Relations, 38(3), 332–350. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-03-2014-0027
33.
PortneyL.WatkinsM. (2015). Foundations of clinical research: Applications to practice. F.A. Davis.
34.
PreacherK. J.HayesA. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03206553
35.
ProyerR. T. (2013). The well-being of playful adults: Adult playfulness, subjective well-being, physical well-being, and the pursuit of enjoyable activities. European Journal of Humour Research, 1(1), 84–98. https://doi.org/10.7592/EJHR2013.1.1.proyer
36.
ProyerR. T. (2014a). Perceived functions of playfulness in adults: Does it mobilize you at work, rest, and when being with others?Revue Européenne de Psychologie Appliquée/European Review of Applied Psychology, 64(5), 241–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erap.2014.06.001
37.
ProyerR. T. (2014b). Playfulness over the lifespan and its relation to happiness: Results from an online survey. Zeitschrift Für Gerontologie Und Geriatrie, 6(47), 508–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00391-013-0539-z
38.
ProyerR. T. (2014c). To love and play: Testing the association of adult playfulness with the relationship personality and relationship satisfaction. Current Psychology, 33(4), 501–514. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-014-9225-6
39.
ProyerR. T. (2017). A new structural model for the study of adult playfulness: Assessment and exploration of an understudied individual differences variable. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 113–122. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.PAID.2016.12.011
40.
ProyerR. T.GanderF.BertenshawE. J.BrauerK. (2018). The positive relationships of playfulness with indicators of health, activity, and physical fitness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, Article 1440. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01440
41.
QianX. L.YarnalC. (2011). The role of playfulness in the leisure stress-coping process among emerging adults: An SEM analysis. Leisure/Loisir, 35(2), 191–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2011.578398
42.
SeligmanM. (2011). Flourish. Random House Australia Pty Ltd.
43.
SkardG.BundyA. C. (2008). Test of playfulness. In ParhamL. D.FazioL. S. (Eds.), Play in occupational therapy for children (2nd ed., pp. 71–93). Mosby Elsevier.
44.
TantaK. J.KnoxS. H. (2015). Play. In Case-SmithJ.O’BrienJ. (Eds.), Occupational therapy for children and adolescents (7th ed., pp. 483–497). Elsevier.
45.
WalkerD. A.SmithT. J. (2017). Computing robust, bootstrap-adjusted fit indices for use with non-normal data. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 50(1–2), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1177/0748175616671365
46.
YueX. D.LeungC.-L.HiranandaniN. A. (2016). Adult playfulness, humor styles, and subjective happiness. Psychological Reports, 119(3), 630–640. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033294116662842
