Study finds playing with pre-school friends lowers risk of acquiring mental health issues
CAMBRIDGE: New research shows that children who learn to play well with others at a young age have better mental health as adults. The findings of the research were published in the journal 'Child Psychiatry and Human Development'. Researchers at the University of Cambridge analysed data from almost 1,700 children, collected when they were aged three and seven. Those with better peer play ability at age three consistently showed fewer signs of poor mental health four years later. They tended to have lower hyperactivity, parents and teachers reported fewer emotional problems, and they were less likely to get into fights or disagreements with other children. Importantly, this connection generally held true even when the researchers focused on subgroups of children who were particularly at risk of mental health problems. It also applied when they considered other risk factors for mental health - such as poverty levels, or cases in which the mother had experienced serious psych...
