Abstract
This study examined subtypes of nonsocial play and their relation to psychosocial adjustment in Malaysian preschool children (N = 141, 72 boys, M age = 4.65 years). Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that a three-factor model that distinguished social reticence, solitary-active play, and solitary-passive play fit the data reasonably well, and also fit the data better than the alternative one- and two-factor models. The distinction among the three subtypes of nonsocial play was found for both boys and girls. Controlling for children’s age, gender, and parents’ education, social reticence was related to teachers’ ratings of anxious behavior, unsociability, and peer exclusion. Solitary-active play was associated with parents’ ratings of inattentiveness, child difficultness, and teachers’ ratings of hyperactivity–distractibility. Solitary-passive play was related to teachers’ ratings of unsociability. The findings provide support for a multidimensional view of nonsocial play in Malaysian children.