Nearby Nature

@article{Wells2003NearbyN,
  title={Nearby Nature},
  author={Nancy M. Wells and Gary W. Evans},
  journal={Environment and Behavior},
  year={2003},
  volume={35},
  pages={311 - 330}
}
Identifying mechanisms that buffer children from life's stress and adversity is an important empirical and practical concern. This study focuses on nature as a buffer of life stress among rural children. To examine whether vegetation near the residential environment might buffer or moderate the impact of stressful life events on children's psychological well-being, data were collected from 337 rural children in Grades 3 through 5 (mean age=9.2 years). Dependent variables include a standard… 
View on SAGE
polipapers.upv.es
727 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
20
Background Citations
265
Methods Citations
7
Results Citations
9

727 Citations

Nature as a Moderator of Stress in Urban Children

Relative 'greenness' and not availability of public open space buffers stressful life events and longitudinal trajectories of psychological distress.

Exposure to public natural space as a protective factor for emotional well-being among young people in Canada

TLDR
The relationship between natural space and positive emotional well-being may be context specific, and thus different for Canadian youth compared to adult populations and those studied in other nations.

Effects of Nearby Nature on Urban Children´s Stress

The study shows empirical evidence of the moderator effect that school and nearby nature at home has on children. A total of 172 children were interviewed and data about their stress level, the…

Family stressors and children's outcomes

This research looked at family stress factors and parental behaviour associated with both successful and poor outcomes for children aged 7. Differences in children’s outcomes have been shown to…

LA NATURALEZA CERCANA COMO MODERADORA DEL ESTRÉS INFANTIL

Nearby nature as a moderator of stress during childhood. The aim of this investigation is to study the relation between the amount of Nature existing in children’s daily environments and the way…

Impact of Residential Greenness on Preschool Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems

TLDR
Farther residential distance from city parks was associated with worse mental health (except for the emotional problems subscale) in children whose mothers had a lower education level, and more residential greenness wasassociated with worsemental health (more conditional problems and less prosocial behavior) inChildren whose mother had a higher education level.

Moving beyond the neighborhood: Daily exposure to nature and adolescents’ mood

Adverse Childhood Experiences: The Protective and Therapeutic Potential of Nature

TLDR
A search of the literature to find previous applications of nature as a protective or therapeutic intervention for people with ACEs is conducted, and various mechanisms of action are put forward that justify a closer exploration of this area in further research.

Connection to Nature and Psychological Resilience

Abstract This study focused on whether one's perceived connection to the natural world correlates with one's subjective sense of psychological resilience. Analysis of survey questionnaire responses…
...

References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 82 REFERENCES

The impact of economic hardship on black families and children: psychological distress, parenting, and socioemotional development.

TLDR
Attention is given to the mechanisms by which parents' social networks reduce emotional strain, lessen the tendency toward punitive, coercive, and inconsistent parenting behavior, and, in turn, foster positive socioemotional development in economically deprived children.

Feeling bad: exploring sources of distress among pre-adolescent children.

TLDR
There were significant associations between children's ratings of mental health and "Feel Bad" scores, and the rank orders of items by different subgroups were highly correlated.

Early indications of resilience and their relation to experiences in the home environments of low birthweight, premature children living in poverty.

TLDR
Overall, premature LBW children born into conditions of poverty have a very poor prognosis of functioning within normal ranges across all the dimensions of health and development assessed, however, those raised in a setting with 3 or more protective factors were more likely to show early signs of resiliency.

COPING WITH POVERTY Impacts of Environment and Attention in the Inner City

Considerable evidence suggests that exposure to “green” environments can enhance human effectiveness and make life’s demands seem manageable. Does this phenomenon extend to poor inner cities, where…

VIEWS OF NATURE AND SELF-DISCIPLINE: EVIDENCE FROM INNER CITY CHILDREN

Children growing up in the inner city are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and other important negative outcomes. Avoiding these outcomes requires…

Does Inadequate Housing Perpetuate Children's Poverty?

Increasing numbers of children in the United States live in housing that is considered substandard. However, there is little understanding of the long-term impact of such housing for children. Using…

At Home with Nature

The nearby natural environment plays a far more significant role in the well-being of children residing in poor urban environments than has previously been recognized. Using a premove/postmove…

Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments

No place to play: Implications for the interaction of parents and children

Abstract A disproportionate number of impoverished families live in housing which does not allow easy access to safe outdoor play. This paper uses Bowlby's theory of attachment as a framework for…

The Relationship of Life Adversity, Social Support, and Coping to Hospitalization with Major Depression

TLDR
Overall, the hospitalized depressed patients reported significantly more events and difficulties than did the controls, but this difference in statistical significance disappeared after excluding from analysis “non-independent” happenings which could have been brought on by depression.
...