Children's perceptions of playfighting, playchasing and real fighting: a cross-national interview study

Playfighting and chasing can he distinguished from real fighting, hut their significance in children's development remains uncertain. This study examines playfighting and chasing from the child's, rather than the observer's, perspective, using a questionnaire given to 8 and 11 year olds in England and South Italy and 5 year olds in England. Findings were generally similar for English and Italian children. Most hoys and girls reported both liking, and taking part in, playchasing; liking and participation in playfighting was more divided, though more so for boys, with many children disliking the perceived risk of injury in playfighting. About half the children (more boys than girls) reported having been in a serious fight, often provoked by verbal abuse or accidental injury. Most children reported that they could tell playfighting from a serious fight; at 5 years, liking and taking part in playfights was a predictor of this ability, which approached ceiling by 8 and 10 years. A wide variety of cues were given which could distinguish playful and serious fighting. Findings were consistent with the practice hypothesis for playfighting. However, most children also thought that playfighting could lead to a serious fight, especially as a result of accidental injury; escalation of this kind was also thought to be more likely if the play partner was not a best friend. Both ‘honest mistakes’ and ‘cheating’ seem to be possible explanations for playfighting leading to serious fighting. Assertion or maintenance of dominance may be a function for cheating in playfighting.