Game preference was used to determine the social complexity of play choices among 162 fourth grade school children living and playing in inner-city, suburban, and rural settings. Boys exhibited significantly higher play-socialization scores than did girls. Social complexity of play and chronological age, in months, were significantly correlated .76 among the sample of inner-city girls. Children from rural schools preferred play requiring less social complexity than children from inner-city or suburban schools. Opportunities for group and team play for boys and within inner-city schools and neighborhoods may best explain differences in these children's play preferences.
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