Summary: A new study finds that spending time in nature reduces behavioural problems and anxiety in preschool children and supports overall health.
Source: University of Hong Kong.
Urban living is often blamed for disconnecting young children from nature, contributing to sedentary habits, poor eating patterns and rising psychological distress. In Hong Kong, about 16% of preschoolers and up to 22% in parts of China show signs of mental health difficulties.
Growing evidence suggests that regular contact with natural environments benefits children’s physical and mental health. International initiatives aim to reduce “nature deficit” and restore child–nature connections. For example, the World Health Organization recommends accessible green spaces for children at close distances to encourage outdoor play and activity. In Hong Kong, roughly 90% of residents live within about 400 metres of green areas, yet many families do not use them.
“Parents often avoid natural areas because they view them as dirty or unsafe, and children adopt those attitudes,” says Dr Tanja Sobko of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong. “Signs such as ‘Keep off the grass’ can make green spaces feel unwelcome.” Until recently, measuring how connected very young children feel to nature has been difficult because preschoolers cannot reliably complete self-report tools.
To address this gap, Dr Sobko and Professor Gavin Brown (Director of the Quantitative Data Analysis and Research Unit, University of Auckland) developed a 16-item parent-report questionnaire called the Connectedness to Nature Index for Parents of Preschool Children (CNI-PPC). The scale assesses four core dimensions of the child–nature relationship: enjoyment of nature, empathy for nature, responsibility toward nature, and awareness of nature.
The study involved two phases: initial family interviews to inform questionnaire development, followed by testing the CNI-PPC for reliability and validity. A total of 493 families with children aged 2–5 years participated. Researchers compared CNI-PPC scores with results from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), a well-established measure of child psychological functioning and behaviour problems.
Results showed clear associations between parent-reported connectedness to nature and better psychological outcomes. Children whose parents reported stronger enjoyment of nature showed lower overall distress and impairment. Greater responsibility toward nature correlated with reduced hyperactivity, fewer behavioural and peer problems, and higher prosocial behaviour. Increased awareness of nature was linked with fewer emotional difficulties. Overall, factors from the CNI-PPC explained substantial variance in SDQ outcomes.
These findings indicate that the CNI-PPC is a reliable and valid tool to assess connectedness to nature in preschool-aged children—an age group unable to complete self-report questionnaires. The measure allows researchers and practitioners to quantify elements of the child–nature bond and study how exposure to natural environments relates to behavioural and emotional wellbeing.
The research stems from Dr Sobko’s Play & Grow programme, the first Hong Kong initiative to promote healthier eating and more active play among preschoolers by strengthening ties with nature. Launched in 2016, Play & Grow has reached nearly 1,000 families across the city and is being adapted for use by universities and organisations overseas, including in Australia.
The study was published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE. The CNI-PPC has drawn international interest and is being adopted by academic teams in several countries. Building on these results, the research team plans to refine nature-based health promotion and disease-prevention interventions. A forthcoming direction is to investigate how exposing children to nature influences their gut microbiota as well as psychological functioning.
Source: Cindy Chan, University of Hong Kong
Publisher: Neuroscience News (organized coverage)
Original research: “Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning” by Tanja Sobko, Zhenzhen Jia, and Gavin Brown, published in PLOS ONE, 29 November 2018.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT02715544 (registered 8 March 2016).
Abstract
Measuring connectedness to nature in preschool children in an urban setting and its relation to psychological functioning
Background: Urban environments have been associated with a growing “nature deficit” among children. Given the documented benefits of nature exposure for health and wellbeing, environmental and public-health programmes aim to reconnect children with green spaces. To evaluate these efforts effectively, valid measures of Connectedness to Nature (CN) are required for preschool-aged children.
Methods: The original CN Index was adapted for parent report in preschool children (CNI-PPC) and tested in Hong Kong for internal consistency (n = 299) and external validity (n = 194). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) served as a comparative measure for convergent and divergent validity. Standard procedures for instrument adaptation and translation were followed.
Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported a 16-item scale with four dimensions—enjoyment of nature, empathy for nature, responsibility toward nature, and awareness of nature—with strong internal reliability (Cronbach’s α = .75 to .87). Several CNI-PPC factors significantly predicted SDQ outcomes: enjoyment of nature was associated with lower overall distress; responsibility toward nature related to reduced hyperactivity, fewer behavioural and peer problems, and greater prosocial behaviour; awareness of nature was linked to fewer emotional difficulties. The explained variance was substantial (R2 range .42 to .80).
Conclusions: The CNI-PPC shows meaningful associations with parents’ reports of their children’s strengths and difficulties, supporting its use as a valid and reliable instrument to measure connectedness to nature in preschoolers. This tool can inform research and practice on how the natural environment affects early childhood psychological functioning and wellbeing.