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The aim of the study was to explore children's fear content. Using the Italian Fear Survey Schedule for Children, an Italian-language version of Ollendick's Fear Survey Schedule for Children-Revised (1983), the study assessed the reliability of the survey and reported intensity, prevalence, and content of fears in children aged six to 10 years, using this questionnaire. 1,845 school children (931 girls, 914 boys; M age=8.3 yr., SD=1.4) were asked to complete the survey, indicating what they thought were their fears, and the intensity of those fears. Sex and age differences were also examined. Girls endorsed significantly higher fearfulness than did boys. Few age differences were found, with seven-year-olds appearing more fearful than 10- to 11-year-old children. Results were interpreted in relation to developmental changes. Cross-national comparisons were discussed.

Pretend play reflects cognitive, representational, and affective expression abilities in children. Cross-cultural studies stress the importance of culture-specific practices involved in shaping the context for play. Differences in the cultural environment and the parental care-giving system could influence children’s pretend play activities. There is a need for cross-cultural comparisons of play that use the same standardized measure of play. The current study was a cross-cultural comparison of two samples of American and Italian children 6 to 8 years old. All children were administered the Affect in Play Scale. As hypothesized, Italian children had significantly more types of affect expression in play than children in the United States, showing a medium effect size. Children in the United States had more imagination in their play, although with a small effect size. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The aim of this paper was to study the construct validity of the Affect in Play Scale, an empirically based measure of pretend play, in a group of 519 Italian children ages 6 to 10 years. In confirmatory factor analysis, a correlated two-factor structure with a cognitive and an affective factor was identified. Possible differences in factor scores by sex and age were investigated but no significant differences were found.

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