Vegetation near young children’s homes is associated with decreased emotional difficultiesA growing body of research suggests that nature may support children in regulating and managing emotions. Natural environments offer a place to play and recover from stress, which may equip children to better manage negative emotions during times of adversity. This study explored the relationship between natural vegetation cover and preschool children’s socioemotional function. In particular, the research sought to investigate whether vegetation cover may provide a buffer against sociodemographic inequality factors (family income and maternal education) which are known to impact child development.
The research utilized a large data set of information about normally developing children from the PLAY Spaces and Environments for Children’s Physical Activity (PLAYCE) study in Australia. A sample of 1,196 preschool children from 102 randomly selected early childhood education and care (ECEC) centers located in one Australian city participated in the research. Participants included 621 boys and 575 girls who ranged in age from two to five years. The sample consisted mainly of typically developing children, although they “displayed more conduct difficulties and hyperactivity and inattention difficulties, and less prosocial behaviors” than typical for Australian children. Child socioemotional functioning was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for 2 to 4-year-olds, which was completed by parents. This assessment measured four scales of socioemotional difficulty behavior—emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and inattention, and peer problems— as well as one prosocial strengths scale. Vegetation cover (trees, shrubs, grass) was measured using unusually precise greenery exposure data at the child level for four settings: home, home neighborhood, ECEC, and ECEC neighborhood. Sociodemographic information, collected as part of the PLAYCE parent survey, included perceived neighborhood crime and traffic, maternal education level, and parent employment status. Additionally, information on other potential influencers of the data were collected, including parent reports of time engaged in outdoor play, sleep duration, and physical activity (measured using accelerometry).
Data analysis revealed that only the emotional difficulties subscale of the SDQ was associated with vegetation cover in the home yard and neighborhood, indicating that children with more vegetation near their homes were reported to have fewer emotional difficulties. On the other hand, associations were not detected between vegetation cover and the other socioemotional domains (conduct, hyperactivity/inattention, peer difficulties, and prosocial behaviors). Additionally, outdoor play, physical activity, and sleep were not found to influence the relationship between socioemotional development and vegetation cover exposure. Regarding sociodemographic factors, data revealed that children with mothers with low education levels were at greater risk of emotional difficulties than children who had mothers with medium or high education levels. Analysis provided some indication that the vegetation cover of the home yard, but not neighborhood, “may act as a potential buffer against the inequality in risk of abnormal emotional difficulties related to maternal education levels.” However, this finding was “questionable due to considerable statistical uncertainty.”
The findings are consistent with previous research which suggests that home and neighborhood vegetation cover might provide a refuge from stress, which may be central to reducing emotional difficulties. The lack of an association between vegetation cover and conduct, hyperactivity, peer difficulties, and prosocial behaviors may indicate that type of environment is not as impactful as other factors for preschoolers. Overall, the study highlights the need for additional research into how nature exposure benefits young children’s socioemotional development. Future research should strive to identify how exposure to various attributes of natural environments might counteract the social inequalities that put children at risk of socioemotional challenges.
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