The Relationship between Temperament Characteristics and Play Behaviors of Preschool Children

This research examines the relationship between play behaviors and temperament characteristics of preschool children from the point of parent and teacher evaluation. It is designed in survey model. The study group of the research consists of 313 children aged 60-72 months attending the educational institutions selected by cluster sampling method among the pre-school education institutions in Istanbul in the 2017-2018 academic year and their mothers and teachers (n=21). In the research, three data collection tools were used, namely the Parent Form and the Teacher Form of the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale (PIPPS) and the Short Temperament Scale for Children. The Short Temperament Scale for Children consists of four sub-dimensions (reactivity, persistence, approach/withdrawal and rhythmicity) and Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale has three sub-dimensions as play interaction, play disruption and play disconnection. The research indicates significant relationships between children's temperament characteristics and play behaviors according to the evaluation of parents and teachers. Role of temperament in forming the behavior patterns of children supports the results of the research on the relationships between temperament characteristics and play behaviors in peer-to-peer interactions from the point of parent and teacher evaluations.