Preference for outdoor play during early adolescence.
The present study examined the extent to which boys' and girls' preference for outdoor, vigorous activity changed as they became socialized to middle school. A sample of 133 boys and girls were studied for one year: those just beginning middle school (sixth graders) and those with one year experience (seventh grade). Measures of children's preference for the playground, the duration of their stay outdoors, and behaviors while outdoors were obtained through direct observational methods. Additionally, teachers' rated children's level of achievement, physical attractiveness, and facility in games. Children also rated each other in terms of dominance status. Results indicated that boys', compared to girls', preference to play outdoors existed only in sixth grade. Factor analyses indicated that three factors described these children: Teachers' Choice, Active Female Oriented, and Outdoor Male Oriented. All three factors varied as children progressed through middle school. Results are discussed in terms of life course developmental theory.
Pellegrini
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AD
Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia, Athens 30602.
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007899:Leisure Activities; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D012737:Sex Factors; D012951:Socialization; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013694:Temperament