Playfulness, Leisure Motivation, and Coping Skills as Contributors to Graduate Health‑Professions Academic Performance

Document Type (Journals)

Original Research

Abstract

Poor mental health affects graduate allied health students’ academic performance. Playfulness, leisure motivation, coping skills, and engagement in leisure activities may contribute to coping with academic stressors. The purpose of this study was to understand the role of leisure participation, playfulness, coping strategies, and anxiety on academic performance of entry-level graduate health professions students. We used a mixed method, exploratory, correlational cross-sectional design to study the relationships between anxiety, playfulness, leisure motivation, coping skills, and academic performance (grade point average) among 108 entry-level occupational therapy, physical therapy, and speech-language pathology students. Measures included the Intrinsic Leisure Motivation Scale, Adult Playfulness Trait Scale, Adult Coping Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and open-ended questions exploring the students' past and current engagement in play and leisure activities. Anxiety was the only significant predictor of academic performance. Grade point average was negatively associated with playfulness, and students with higher grade point averages reported feeling more anxious. Students reported being intrinsically motivated to engage in leisure and were moderately playful, and they employed adaptive coping strategies. Three categories emerged showcasing participants’ play and leisure history and experiences: playful experiences in childhood, leisure experiences, and barriers and benefits of engaging in play and leisure activities. They reported a shift from active, social leisure activities to solitary, passive ones in adulthood. There is a potentially maladaptive interplay between anxiety, leisure engagement, and academic performance in health professions graduate students, underscoring a perceived trade-off between well-being and achievement.

Biography

Amiya Waldman-Levi, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA is Professor and Program Director of the Occupational Therapy Doctorate Program at Rutgers University School of Health Professions. With more than 20 years of experience in occupational therapy, research, and higher education, she provides leadership for academic programs, curriculum development, faculty mentorship, and student success initiatives.

Ruth Peer, OTD, OTR/L is a graduate of the Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health, Occupational Therapy Doctorate program.

Noah Frydman, OTD, OTR/L is a graduate of the Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health, Occupational Therapy Doctorate program.

Piermiline Datilus, OTD, OTR/L is a pediatric occupational therapist and professor with a background in occupational therapy and psychology. Her professional and scholarly interests include student mental health, mental health awareness across the lifespan, and the role of occupational therapy in promoting mental health and well-being. Dr. Datilus is committed to increasing awareness of mental health needs across populations and advancing recognition of occupational therapy’s role in addressing mental health through education, advocacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Suzan Khavkin, OTD is a graduate of Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health Occupational Therapy Doctorate program. Dr. Khavkin’s scholarly work focuses on graduate health-professions education and factors contributing to academic performance. Her doctoral research examined factors associated with academic performance among graduate health-professions students and contributed to the present study.

Anita Bundy, ScD, OT/L, FAOTA, FOTARA is an Emeritus Professor from Colorado State University. Dr. Bundy retired in 2026 after 20 years of service to the Department of Occupational Therapy as professor and department head.

Declaration of Interest

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Recommended Citation

Waldman-Levi, A., Peer, R., Frydman, N., Datilus, P., Khavkin, S., & Bundy, A. (2026). Playfulness, Leisure Motivation, and Coping Skills as Contributors to Graduate Health‑Professions Academic Performance. Journal of Occupational Therapy Education, 10 (4). Retrieved from https://encompass.eku.edu/jote/vol10/iss4/9