It is theorised that adventurous play offers learning opportunities that help to prevent mental health problems in children. In this study, data from two samples is used to examine associations between the time that children aged 5–11 years spent playing adventurously and their mental health. For comparison, time spent playing unadventurously and time spent playing outdoors are also examined. Study 1 includes a sample of 417 parents, Study 2 includes data from a nationally representative sample of 1919 parents. Small, significant associations between adventurous play and internalising problems, as well as positive affect during the first UK-wide Covid-19 lockdown, were found; children who spend more time playing adventurously had fewer internalising problems and more positive affect during the Covid-19 lockdown. Study 2 showed that these associations were stronger for children from lower income families than for children from higher income families. The results align with theoretical hypotheses about adventurous play.

理论上，冒险游戏提供了有助于预防儿童心理健康问题的学习机会。在这项研究中，来自两个样本的数据用于检查 5-11 岁儿童冒险玩耍的时间与其心理健康之间的关联。为了比较，还检查了不冒险玩耍的时间和户外玩耍的时间。研究 1 包括 417 名父母的样本，研究 2 包括来自 1919 名父母的全国代表性样本的数据。发现了冒险游戏与内化问题之间的微小而显着的关联，以及在第一次英国范围内的 Covid-19 封锁期间产生的积极影响；在 Covid-19 封锁期间，花更多时间冒险玩耍的孩子内化问题更少，影响更积极。研究 2 表明，来自低收入家庭的孩子的这些关联比来自高收入家庭的孩子更强。结果与关于冒险游戏的理论假设一致。