Playing it safe? An evolutionary life history theory perspective on Canadian adolescent play during the COVID-19 pandemic

Playing during adolescence is hypothesized to prepare young people to respond to unexpected future challenges. But, when extrinsic environmental risks are high, adolescents are expected to prioritize immediate-payoff behaviours over playing. It is unclear, though, how an ecological shock like a spike in community spread of a potentially deadly virus might affect adolescent play. Using data from a socio-demographically-diverse sample of 460 Canadian adolescents surveyed across varying levels of threat/restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, of whom 39 also engaged in focus groups, we explored variations in time allocations to play. We regressed indicators of respondents' time spent on play on whether they responded during a pandemic wave peak, and on socio-ecological-demographic parameters. Health indicators were then regressed on the play. Focus group quotes and perspectives contextualized the quantitative findings. There was no clear evidence of changes in overall time allocations to play during increased viral threat/restrictions, but modes of play were atypical for adolescents, regardless of when they responded. Adolescents living under more stressful socio-ecological conditions engaged in less play. The play was positively associated with health indicators. Pandemic spikes did not reduce the time Canadian adolescents spent playing, but likely affected how they played, which has implications for their current and future well-being.

有假说认为，青春期的玩耍可帮助青少年为应对未来突发挑战做好准备。但当外在环境风险较高时，青少年往往会优先选择可获得即时回报的行为，而非参与玩耍。不过，诸如致命性病毒社区传播激增这类生态冲击（ecological shock），会对青少年的玩耍行为产生何种影响，目前尚不明确。本研究纳入460名社会人口学特征多样的加拿大青少年作为研究样本，在新冠疫情（COVID-19）期间针对不同程度的疫情威胁与管控措施开展调研，其中39名青少年还参与了焦点小组访谈（focus groups），借此探究青少年玩耍时间分配的变化情况。我们以受访者是否在疫情峰值阶段参与调研，以及社会生态-人口学参数（socio-ecological-demographic parameters）作为自变量，对受访者的玩耍时间投入指标进行回归分析；随后又以玩耍行为作为自变量，对健康指标开展回归分析。焦点小组访谈的发言与观点，为量化研究结果提供了情境化阐释。研究未发现疫情威胁加剧与管控收紧期间，青少年总体玩耍时间分配出现明确变化，但无论受访者参与调研的时间节点如何，其玩耍模式均与青少年常规状态不符。处于社会生态压力更大环境中的青少年，玩耍时长更短。玩耍行为与健康指标呈显著正相关。疫情传播峰值并未减少加拿大青少年的玩耍时长，但很可能改变了他们的玩耍方式，这对其当下及未来的福祉均具有重要影响。