Young at Heart: A Perspective for Advancing Research on Play in Adulthood

Developmental and animal research has established play as important to well-being, yet little is known about implications of play by human adults, particularly within close relationships, where it is most likely to occur. Although this is an important emerging topic for psychology, several obstacles have impeded research in this area, including definitional issues and the lack of a guiding framework. In this article, we direct attention to this neglected research area and propose a perspective on play in adulthood that provides a definition of the construct (a behavior or activity that is carried out with the goal of amusement and fun, involves an enthusiastic and in-the-moment attitude or approach, and is highly interactive among play partners or with the activity itself) and identifies potential immediate outcomes (e.g., positive affect, feelings of being accepted and valued, reductions in daily stress) and long-term outcomes (e.g., psychological, physical, and relational health) of play in adulthood, with an emphasis on play occurring within the context of close relationships. In doing so, we elucidate important avenues for future research on this topic (e.g., development of standardized measures, examination of biological mechanisms), which is ripe for investigation.