THE QUALITY OF FATHER–CHILD ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS’ AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN CHINA

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of the quality of early father–child rough-and-tumble play (RTP) on toddler aggressive behaviors and more fully understand how child, mother, and father characteristics were associated with higher quality father–child RTP among contemporary urban Chinese families. Participants included 42 families in Changsha, China. Play observations of fathers and their children were coded for RTP quality. The specific RTP quality of father–child reciprocity of dominance was associated with fewer toddler aggressive behaviors, as rated by both fathers and mothers. Mothers’ democratic parenting attitudes were associated with higher quality father–child RTP. These findings suggest that higher quality father–child RTP may be one way in which some fathers influence children's expression of aggressive behaviors, and the quality of father–child RTP may be influenced by the broader family, social, and cultural contexts.