The power of pretend: unveiling the role of play complexity in self-regulation among polish preschool children

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dc.abstract.enPretend play is crucial for preschool children’s cognitive and social development and has potential links to self-regulation. While prior research suggests associations between pretend play complexity and self-regulation, the relations between specific dimensions of pretend play and specific dimensions of self-regulation remain underexplored. This study examines associations between pretend play dimensions and behavioral and emotional self-regulation, expecting cognitive dimensions (organization, elaboration, imagination) to relate positively to behavioral regulation and the social interaction dimension to emotional regulation. Participants included 93 children (50.5% girls, Mage = 60.77 months, SD = 13.34) in Krakow, Poland. Pretend play was assessed using indicators of complexity and social relationships using observational assessments. Children’s behavioral self-regulation and emotion regulation was evaluated through direct assessments. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the organization aspect of pretend play (β = .38, p = .024) and age (β = 0.55, p < .001) were significant predictors of behavioral self-regulation. No significant predictors emerged for emotional self-regulation, and the explained variance was minimal (R2 = .07, p = .352). Structured pretend play may support behavioral self-regulation in preschoolers, while its role in emotional self-regulation remains unclear. Further research should explore additional play characteristics and contextual factors influencing self-regulation.
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii w Katowicach
dc.contributor.authorJózefacka, Natalia
dc.contributor.authorKorucu, Irem
dc.contributor.authorMcClelland, Megan M.
dc.date.accessioned2026-04-09T08:57:58Z
dc.date.available2026-04-09T08:57:58Z
dc.date.created2025-04-06
dc.date.issued2026
dc.description.accesstimeafter_publication
dc.description.physical1-7
dc.description.sdgQualityEducation
dc.description.versionfinal_published
dc.description.volume268
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jecp.2026.106525
dc.identifier.eissn1096-0457
dc.identifier.issn0022-0965
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/2293
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022096526000779?via%3Dihub
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsClosedAccess
dc.rights.explanationArtykuł został opublikowany na zasadach subskrypcji.
dc.rights.questionNo_rights
dc.share.articleOTHER
dc.subject.enpretend play
dc.subject.enimagination
dc.subject.enelaboration
dc.subject.enorganization
dc.subject.ensocial interaction
dc.subject.enself-regulation
dc.subject.enbehavioral self-regulation
dc.subject.enemotional-self-regulation
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleThe power of pretend: unveiling the role of play complexity in self-regulation among polish preschool children
dc.title.journalJournal of Experimental Child Psychology
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle