BOYS ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE PLAY, SOCIAL COMPETENCE AND GROUP COMPOSITION

The intent of this study was to examine relations between specific asp ects of boys' rough-and-tumble play (R&T) and social competence. The p rime concern was to test the hypothesis that R&T made contributions to boys' social competence, beyond those made by other forms of reciproc al social interaction. Boys' social competence was measured by their p eer nominated popularity and solutions to hypothetical social problems . Forty-two boys, with a mean age of 11:2 years, were observed on thei r school playground for 20 weeks. They nominated peers whom they liked most and least, rank-ordered peers in terms of dominance, and solved hypothetical social problems. Teachers also completed a temperament qu estionnaire for each child. Results indicated that neither relative fr equency of R&T nor the vigour dimension of R&T accounted for significa nt variance in boys' popularity beyond other forms of reciprocal socia l interaction. Further, relative frequency of R&T was negatively, but not significantly, related to popularity. The flexibility dimension of R&T did account for significant variance, above other forms of recipr ocal social interaction, in social problem solving. The composition of R&T groups, in terms of size and dominance symmetry, did not differ s ignificantly from other forms of reciprocal social interaction. Lastly , both aspects of temperament measured related to the vigour level of R&T. Results are discussed in terms of specific design features of R&T serving differential functions.