Playing it safe? An evolutionary life history theory perspective on Canadian adolescent play during the COVID-19 pandemic

Playing during adolescence is hypothesized to prepare young people to respond to unexpected future challenges. But, when extrinsic environmental risks are high, adolescents are expected to prioritize immediate-payoff behaviours over playing. It is unclear, though, how an ecological shock like a spike in community spread of a potentially deadly virus might affect adolescent play. Using data from a socio-demographically-diverse sample of 460 …