Date Presented 04/06/19
Initial development of the Scale of Parental Playfulness Attitude during the co-occupation of play (PaPA, or Escala AJugar in Spanish) will be detailed. The PaPA is the first self-report measure, developed with the purpose of evaluating whether the approach of parents playing with their children between 2.5 and 6 years 11 months, reflects a playful attitude. It is expected to serve as a useful tool for professionals working on play with families of children with developmental challenges.
Primary Author and Speaker: Rosa Roman-Oyola
Additional Authors and Speakers: Chastiti Vazquez-Gual
Contributing Authors: Itzamar Dasta-Valentin, Graciela Diaz-Lazzarini, Glorian Collazo-Aguilar, Coraly Yambo-Martinez, Anita Bundy, Shelly Lane, Victor Bonilla-Rodriguez
PURPOSE: Measures about playfulness in adults have been developed over time, but they tend to consider adult’s playfulness mostly as a dimension of personality. Despite of the importance of play as a potential enhancer of the parent-child relationship, tools available to measure parents’ playfulness attitude related to the context of the playing experience with their child are scarce. This study entailed the first stage of the development of the Scale of Parental Playfulness Attitude during the Co-occupation of Play (PaPA, or “Escala AJugar”, for its Spanish acronym).
DESIGN: A mixed method exploratory sequential design was used (Creswell & Plano-Clark, 2011). This is a report of the first stage; which involved the collection of ample qualitative data for the development of the PaPA.
METHOD: A total of 24 individuals participated: 13 parents of neurotypical children between two years and a half and six years, eleven months; and 11 neurotypical preschoolers. Data collection strategies included two focus groups and three interviews with the parents about play experiences with their children. A semi-structured format, including the same questions was followed in the focus groups and in the individual interviews. A focus group and four individual interviews were performed with the preschoolers. Additionally, information from interviews of a previous qualitative study about play experiences of four parental couples with their children in the autism spectrum was used.
All data was analyzed with template analysis (King, 2004). The four elements included in the Playfulness Model of Skard and Bundy (2008) were used as pre-established codes to guide the analysis (i.e., Intrinsic Motivation, internal control, suspension of reality, and framing).
RESULTS: The PaPA was modified along eight versions developed throughout five specific steps: (1) analysis of the literature and of the information collected in focus groups and interviews (Version 1); (2) Several meetings with the collaborators of the project (two with expertise in play and playfulness; and one in test construction; Versions 2 to 5); (3) Revision by 10 external experts in the areas of: occupational therapy, test development, play, early education, and psychology (Version 6); (4) Discussion of external experts’ feedback with project collaborators (Version 7); and (5) Cognitive interviews with parents of children between two and a half and six years, eleven months, to assess their understanding about the content of the questionnaire. Some of the modifications made throughout these steps included changes to: the instructions, the items (deletion, edition or addition of new items), the response scale, and the title of the questionnaire. The current version of the PaPA has six sections: Personal information, Motivation to play, Control while playing, Suspension of reality, Cues during play, and Types of play and barriers to play.
CONCLUSION: The PaPA was developed through a rigorous and iterative process. This first stage served to establish evidence of content validity. A pilot study is in process to collect data to provide additional validity and reliability evidences. Impact statement: The PaPA is the first self-report measure, developed with the purpose of evaluating whether the approach of parents playing with their children between two years and a half and six years, eleven months, reflects a playful attitude. It has been developed in English and Spanish. The PaPA is expected to serve as a useful tool for occupational therapists and other professionals using play as a therapeutic mean and as a goal with families of children with diverse disabilities or developmental challenges.
References
Creswell, J. W., & Plano -Clark, V. L. (2011). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
King, N. (2004). Using Templates in the Thematic Analysis of Text. In Cassell, C. & Symon, G. (Eds.), Essential Guide to Qualitative Methods in Organizational Research (pp. 256-270). Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Skard, G. & Bundy, A. (2008). Test of Playfulness. In D. Parham and L. Fazio (Eds.) Play in Occupational Therapy for children, (pp. 71-93). Missouri, USA: Mosby Elsevier.
