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The work outlines the first three steps of a four-step, multimethod approach: defining the characteristics of older-adult playfulness, extending prior young-adult conceptualizations, developing the Older Adult Playfulness (OAP) scale, and validating its reliability. The study frames why positive emotions and wellbeing relate to healthy aging and motivates measurement suited to older adults.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/older-adult-playfulness-an-innovative-construct-and-measurement-for-healthy-aging-research/592422/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/older-adult-playfulness-an-innovative-construct-and-measurement-for-healthy-aging-research/592422.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"McGucket","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-04","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why is studying older-adult playfulness important for healthy aging?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The text notes limited research on playfulness in older adults and argues that playfulness may support cognitive, emotional, social, and psychological functioning connected to healthy aging.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What are the first three steps of the study’s four-step approach?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Step 1 characterizes older-adult playfulness by extending prior work and recruiting older participants. Step 2 develops the Older Adult Playfulness (OAP) scale. Step 3 validates the reliability of the OAP scale.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How does the article define playfulness in younger adults, and why is that uncertain for older adults?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Barnett (2007) conceptualizes young-adult playfulness as a predisposition to transform situations in novel, flexible, creative, and humorous ways. The authors state it is unknown whether older adults characterize playfulness the same way.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},592422,1792912788,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},1236954412713,"https://us-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Older-Adult Playfulness  \nAn Innovative Construct and Measurement for Healthy Aging Research s  \nCareen Yarnal and Xinyi Qian  \nFew studies of adult playfulness exist, but limited research on older adults and playfulness suggests that playfulness in later life improves cognitive, emotional, social, and psychological functioning and healthy aging overall. Older adults represent a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, underscoring the need to understand the aging process. In this article, the authors report on the first three steps ofa four-step, multimethod approach to test the hypothesis that playfulness is an important component of healthy aging in older adults. Step 1 determines the characteristics of older-adult playfulness, extending Barnett’s (2007) study of young-adult playfulness and recruiting participants from a different age group (older adults rather than younger adults). Based on findings from Step 1, in Step  \n2 the authors develop the Older Adult Playfulness (OAP) scale to measure playfulness in older adults. In Step 3, they validate the reliability of the OAP scale. A forthcoming manuscript will report on the relationship between older adult playfulness and healthy aging (Step 4). Keywords: adult playfulness; child playfulness; Older-Adult Playfulness (OAP) scale; older adults  \nHow do adults, sixty- five and older, characterize and define playfulness? Based on empirical evidence, Barnett (2007) conceptualized young-adult playfulness as a predisposition to transform situations in novel, flexible, creative, and humorous ways. Barnett’s study led to the development of an instrument to measure playfulness in young adults. We do not know, however, if older adults characterize playfulness in the same way.  \nThe paucity of research on older-adult playfulness is inopportune. Hendrie and several colleagues (2006) suggested “. . . characteristics that can help people maintain or enhance their cognitive and emotional health as they grow older [should be] a major public health goal for [the United States]”(13) . Huppert (2004) noted, however, that the majority of research on Americans’ health is“negative or disease oriented,” particularly in studies of older adults (693). Yet, there is compelling evidence that positive factors in individual lives, such as favorable emotions, happiness, life satisfaction, and quality of life relate inti-  \n52  \nAmerican Journal of Play, volume 4, number 1. © The Strong.  \n[Contact Careen Yarnal at cmy122@psu.edu](Contact Careen Yarnal at cmy122@psu.edu)  \nmately to healthy aging (Fredrickson 2000; Keyes 2002; Lyubomirsky, King, and Diener 2005; Ong 2010; Ryan and Deci 2001) .  \nPlayfulness also holds great potential for contributing to healthy aging (Yarnal 2004, 2006). We know that playfulness fosters good health in childhood (Barros, Silver, and Stein 2009; Kuo and Faber Taylor 2004; Panksepp 2008; Pelligrini 2009) . And, some researchers (Elder, Johnson, and Crosnoe 2003; Fredrickson 1998; Moen 2002) postulate that adult playfulness might bean important characteristic of cognitive functioning and emotional growth, both important components of healthy aging. To date, however, no empirical evidence exists to support a link between playfulness and healthy aging, nor does an age-appropriate definition and a measure of older-adult playfulness. Thus, this study attempts to characterize and define older-adult playfulness and to develop a reliable and valid measure of it.  \nWhat is Playfulness?  \nIn this section, we review researchers’ work in defining and measuring playfulness in individuals of different ages.  \nChildhood Playfulness  \nIn our effort to understand playfulness, we found not only considerably more research about children than adults (Barnett 1990, 1991a, 1991b; Barnett and Kleiber 1982, 1984; Bundy et al. 2008; Lieberman 1965, 1966; Reid 2006; Singer and Rummo 1973), but also an ongoing debate about how to define it. We use three scales—the Playfulness Scale (Lieberman 1966, 1977","cbCaiiQnS4lSztUi","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiQnS4lSztUi","pdf",272437,28,"English","# Older-Adult Playfulness: Construct and Measurement for Healthy Aging Research\n## Study Rationale and Approach\n## Background: How Adults Define Playfulness\n## Playfulness as a Factor in Healthy Aging\n## What Is Playfulness?\n### Childhood Playfulness","[{\"question\":\"Why is studying older-adult playfulness important for healthy aging?\",\"answer\":\"The text notes limited research on playfulness in older adults and argues that playfulness may support cognitive, emotional, social, and psychological functioning connected to healthy aging.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the first three steps of the study’s four-step approach?\",\"answer\":\"Step 1 characterizes older-adult playfulness by extending prior work and recruiting older participants. Step 2 develops the Older Adult Playfulness (OAP) scale. Step 3 validates the reliability of the OAP scale.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the article define playfulness in younger adults, and why is that uncertain for older adults?\",\"answer\":\"Barnett (2007) conceptualizes young-adult playfulness as a predisposition to transform situations in novel, flexible, creative, and humorous ways. The authors state it is unknown whether older adults characterize playfulness the same way.\"}]","Older-Adult Playfulness - An Innovative Construct and Measurement for Healthy Aging Research | PDF",1792074552,71]