This study explored the potential for contact with nature to reduce the impact of attention deficit disorder in children. The study was designed to test two hypotheses: 1) Attention deficit symptoms will be more manageable after activities in green settings than after activities in other settings; and 2) The greener a child's everyday environment, the more manageable their attention deficit symptoms will be in general. To address these hypotheses, the authors surveyed 96 parents of 7-12 year old children with ADD or ADHD (and followup with focus groups of a subset of these parents) about the aftereffects of leisure time spent in different settings, the amount of nature in their everyday settings and the severity of attention deficit symptoms in general. Six possible alternative explanations for a nature-attention relationship were also examined. The results supported the hypotheses and alternative hypotheses were not supported.
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