- Title
- The impact of father-child play interactions on child development
- Creator
- Robinson, Erin Louise
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2022
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Parent-child play begins from birth and has broad impacts for child development. Parental mental health and parental perceptions of play importance, impact both the way in which parents engage in play with their child, and moreover, the frequency of these interactions. While both parents make unique child developmental contributions, there is a need to explore the influences of fathers, as past research has focussed heavily on maternal influences. As many fathers enjoy the physical and competitive rough-and-tumble play (RTP), that involves wrestling, chasing, tickling, and tumbling, more than other play types, this is a particular focus area for the present research. The broad aims of the present research were to increase our understanding of the impact that father-child play has on child development, explore play in Australian families, examine the impact of mental health and parental perceptions on play frequency and quality, and lastly, assess the feasibility of a father-child play intervention for reducing problems behaviours in Australian children. A systematic review, which included 39 publications that have previously examined the relationship between father-child play and child development, was completed. The results indicated that positive parenting behaviours (e.g., sensitivity and involvement) were positively related to favourable child outcomes (e.g., emotional regulation and social skills). An online survey assessed the prevalence of play in Australian families and revealed that while both mothers and fathers engaged in RTP, this was the preferred play type of fathers. An RTP study was conducted with Australian fathers and their children, and these interactions showed relationships with both internalising and externalising behaviour problems for children. Thus, a pilot intervention study was conducted to determine the efficacy of a father-focused intervention for the reduction of child behaviour problems, which achieved promising results. Overall, the present research has provided valuable insights into the relationships between father-child play and child development. This research presents directions for further exploration into the intricacies of the relationship between father-child RTP, mental health and child development.
- Subject
- RTP; father; child; play; rough and tumble; child development; family
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1462441
- Identifier
- uon:46471
- Rights
- Copyright 2022 Erin Louise Robinson
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| Thumbnail | File | Description | Size | Format | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 20 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 272 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |