Exploring and assessing nonsocial play in the preschool: The development and validation of the preschool play behavior scale

Recently, researchers have investigated the different structural forms of young children's nonsocial play behaviors. The primary goal of this research was to develop and validate the Preschool Play Behavior Scale (PPBS), a teacher rating scale designed to assess the multiple forms of young children's solitary behaviors. In this regard, two studies were conducted. In Study 1, 39 preschool children were observed, and their social and nonsocial behaviors recorded over a three month period. Teachers than completed the PPBS. Results supported the construct validity of the PPBS; teacher-rated and observed nonsocial and social behaviors were significantly associated in predicted ways. In Study 2, parental (e.g., demographic, child temperament) and teacher (e.g., PPBS, child behavior problems) rating were collected for 337 preschoolers. Results established the psychometric properties of the PPBS (e.g., inter-rater reliability, factor structure, internal consistency, and convergent validity).