From playful parents to adaptable children: a structural equation model of the relationships between playfulness and adaptability among young adults and their parents
Abstract
For evolved phenotypical characteristics to be retained by organisms, the adaptive advantages of those characteristics must outweigh their costs. The costs of play can involve injury, susceptibility to predation, and use of time that might otherwise be devoted to food acquisition while its advantages might include learning, socialization, and physical exercise. Another general evolutionary advantage of play might be that it confers adaptability. The primary goal of this study is to seek empirical evidence for the role of playfulness in shaping adaptability by examining two questions: whether the children of more playful parents are more playful and whether more playful children are more adaptable. Our results based on a young adult sample (n = 311) and their ratings about themselves and their parents support a positive link between playfulness and adaptability, while pushing for a more intricate understanding of the differential roles of parents in passing on the benefit of playfulness.
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Adult playfulness is associated with adaptive functioning and well-being.
“Beyond childhood, increasing attention has been directed toward playfulness as a psychological resource associated with adaptive functioning and well-being in adulthood (Proyer & Brauer, 2023;Rubinstein et al., 2025;Shen et al., 2017).”
From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Shen et al., 2017
Playful adults report more secure attachment patterns and more satisfying social relationships.
“Emerging evidence suggests that playful adults report more secure attachment patterns and more satisfying social relationships, although this area remains relatively underexplored (Brauer et al., 2024;Proyer, 2014a;Shen et al., 2017).”
From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Shen et al., 2017
Studies using trait-based measures including the APTS have demonstrated consistent positive associations with global well-being indices and mental health outcomes.
“Studies employing trait-based measures of adult playfulness, including the Adult Playfulness Trait Scale (APTS), have demonstrated consistent positive associations with global well-being indices and mental health outcomes (Proyer et al., 2021;Shen et al., 2017).”
From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Shen et al., 2017
Parental warmth and autonomy support are positively associated with children's playfulness and social competence.
“Empirical research indicates that parental warmth and autonomy support are positively associated with children's playfulness and social competence (Barnett, 2011;Shen et al., 2017;Wilhelm et al., 2016).”
From Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships (2026) · cites this paper as Shen et al., 2017
Cites
Positive Emotions Broaden and Build
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013) · Advances in Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-407236-7.00001-2 · Cited by 1,907 · see citing works
The Genesis of Animal Play: Testing the Limits
Burghardt, G. M. (2005) · doi:10.7551/mitpress/3229.001.0001 · Cited by 1,094 · see citing works
Ineffectiveness of Reverse Wording of Questionnaire Items: Let’s Learn from Cows in the Rain
Sonderen, E. V., Sanderman, R., & Coyne, J. C. (2013) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0068967 · Cited by 544 · see citing works
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Childhood and Adult Playfulness: Links with Well-Being and Interpersonal Relationships
Skeryte-Kazlauskiene, M. (2026) · International Journal of Psychological Studies · doi:10.5539/ijps.v18n2p37
“In adults, playfulness has been linked to higher life satisfaction, greater positive affect, better adaptability, lower depressive symptoms, and more effective stress coping (Proyer, 2014b, 2017; Proyer et al., 2018; Shen et al., 2017; Van Vleet & Feeney, 2015).”
Influential
- Authors
- Shen, X., Chick, G., & Pitas, N. A.
- Affiliations
- Inno-Solution Research LLC, State College, PA, USA
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Shen, Xiangyou
- Venue
- International Journal of Play
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-09-02
- Volume
- 6
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 244-254
- ISSN
- 2159-4937 (ISSN-L)
- 2159-4953
- OpenAlex
- W2765247724
- Cited by
- 29
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 2.49
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Play (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Humor Studies and Applications
- Keywords
- playfulness, adaptability, intergenerational transmission, young adults, parent-child relationship
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