The Influence of Connectedness to Nature on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from the Randomized Controlled Trial Play&Grow
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Results
2.1. Relationship between the CN and the SDQ across Time after the Intervention
2.2. Intervention Group (IG) vs Control Group (IG)
3. Discussion
Strengths and Limitations
4. Materials and Methods
4.1. Study Design and Procedures
4.2. Participants
4.3. Outcome Measures
4.3.1. Children’s Connectedness to Nature
4.3.2. Children’s Psychological Development
4.4. Statistical Analysis
- At both times, configural equivalent latent factor structures for CN (four scale score indicators) and SDQ (five scale score indicators);
- Correlated residuals or factors from Time 1 to Time 2 to capture the correlated nature of constructs;
- Statistically significant causal paths from experimental status as a dummy variable (0 = CG, 1 = IG) onto the CN factors at Time 2; and
- Statistically significant regression paths from CN scale scores to SDQ scale scores at each time point.
4.5. Approval by Ethical Committee and Consent to Participate
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Dependent Variable | Beta Values | Total R2 | f2 | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Direct | Indirect | |||
Connectedness to Nature | ||||
Responsibility | 0.387 | 0.387 | 0.63 | |
Awareness | 0.098 | 0.098 | 0.11 | |
Enjoyment | 0.285 | 0.285 | 0.40 | |
Strengths & Difficulties | ||||
ProSocial | 0.032 | 0.032 | 0.03 | |
Hyperactivity | −0.022 | −0.022 | −0.02 | |
Emotionality | −0.004 | −0.004 | 0.00 |
Factor | IG | CG | Difference | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Intercept | se | Intercept | se | Diff | Weighted se | Diff/se | |
Connectedness to Nature (CN) | |||||||
Awareness1 | 3.986 | 0.029 | 4.081 | 0.047 | −0.10 | 0.07 | −1.43 |
Responsibility1 | 3.429 | 0.032 | 3.552 | 0.053 | −0.12 | 0.07 | −1.66 |
Empathy1 | 3.564 | 0.035 | 3.726 | 0.066 | −0.16 | 0.08 | −1.91 |
Enjoyment1 | 3.844 | 0.031 | 3.83 | 0.052 | 0.01 | 0.07 | 0.19 |
Awareness2 | 4.314 | 0.027 | 4.257 | 0.048 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.89 |
Responsibility2 | 3.784 | 0.033 | 3.452 | 0.065 | 0.33 | 0.08 | 4.09 |
Empathy2 | 3.781 | 0.034 | 3.846 | 0.063 | −0.06 | 0.08 | −0.80 |
Enjoyment2 | 4.054 | 0.029 | 3.782 | 0.056 | 0.27 | 0.07 | 3.84 |
Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) | |||||||
ProSocial1 | 0.624 | 0.088 | 0.594 | 0.176 | 0.03 | 0.22 | 0.14 |
Hyperactivity1 | 1.032 | 0.074 | 0.945 | 0.145 | 0.09 | 0.18 | 0.48 |
Peer1 | 0.745 | 0.069 | 0.93 | 0.12 | −0.19 | 0.16 | −1.14 |
Conduct1 | 0.569 | 0.015 | 0.589 | 0.029 | −0.02 | 0.04 | −0.55 |
Emotional1 | 0.377 | 0.016 | 0.394 | 0.026 | −0.02 | 0.04 | −0.46 |
ProSocial2 | 0.563 | 0.088 | 0.489 | 0.152 | 0.07 | 0.21 | 0.36 |
Hyperactivity2 | 1.144 | 0.072 | 1.027 | 0.111 | 0.12 | 0.16 | 0.72 |
Peer2 | 0.756 | 0.068 | 0.745 | 0.124 | 0.01 | 0.16 | 0.07 |
Conduct2 | 0.569 | 0.014 | 0.618 | 0.026 | −0.05 | 0.03 | −1.45 |
Emotional2 | 0.558 | 0.091 | 0.615 | 0.179 | −0.06 | 0.22 | −0.25 |
Session | Activities during the Program |
---|---|
1 | Introduction of environmental education program: Setting goals, communication in the family. Introduce basic concepts regarding environmental awareness, parental feeding styles, and how these might relate to beliefs about healthy lifestyle and safety of children. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: The Social Ecological Model (SEM), used in the micro-level environmental settings to improve eating habits through exo-environmental linkages, such as greater caregiver environmental awareness, in all sessions. Self Determination Theory (SDT) and Erikson’s Theory of Human Development (THD): on motivation and autonomy to set up goals in the family. |
2 | Environmental education and Healthy eating: Food and nature. Where the food comes from. Food groups and reading food labels. How much to eat? Develop caregivers’ understanding regarding basic nutrition principles. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Patterson’s Social Interaction Learning Theory (SILT) to purposefully play with a planted vegetable and learn the relationship between food and nature, as well as to discuss basic nutrition principles with peer families in a group format. |
3 | Environmental education and Active play: Methods to encourage active play in nature. Decrease inactive time. Motor skill development for children—the foundation. For an active life and safety. Develop of themes/skills regarding: moving for health caregivers and sedentary behaviors in families. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT and SILT to develop games that encourage active play and interaction with peers and caregivers in nature. When cooperating with other families, participants were able to understand the importance of activity more efficiently and be more motivated. |
4 | Environmental education and Sleeping time: Develop caregivers understanding how being in nature influence sleeping behaviors, sleeping friend and sleeping routines. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT and SILT to develop discussion part for caregivers to share their difficulties and understand that they are well-supported when they have problems while parenting. These theories were also used to develop games that allow children to relax and enjoy the calm nature brings in a peer group format. |
5 | Environment and Fuzzy eating: The environmental awareness and children, waste of food. Develop parental skills: how to feed/how to manage food rejection and demands. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SDT, SCT and SILT to develop a peer-supported group discussion on fuzzy eating and activity to allow the children to touch, smell, and taste the raw vegetables before eating them with peers autonomously. |
6 | Environment and Limit setting: Provide caregivers with understanding about care for nature, responsibility and power struggle. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT, SILT, THD to develop games for children to understand how nature grows, the essence of life and growth in nature, and eventually to learn to care for nature as a group with other peers. |
7 | Environmental awareness and Fun with food: Talking about resources and cooking together. To develop understanding about parental modelling, sedentary behaviors. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT, SILT, THD to develop games and engagements for caregivers to “cook” together with their own children as well as other peers. “Cook” refers to preparing raw vegetables, which allows participants to appreciate the “patterns” or “drawings” inside of the vegetable when they are cut open. |
8 | Environmental awareness and healthy habits: Rules and routines. Develop skills on providing fail-safe food and activity environments and taking responsibility for nature. Throwing, catching, and bouncing skills. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT, SILT, THD to let the caregivers know how important it is to set up rules and routines in the families, group discussion specifically increases the motivation for participants to develop healthy habits in the family. Games were designed to show how simple it is to incorporate active nature games in daily routines. |
9 | Nature and me: Run & Fun: Promoting physical activity in Nature. Safety and fun in the nature. Develop parental skills for creating safe outdoor activities in nature environment. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SCT and SILT to let the caregivers know how important it is to set up rules and routines in their family, group discussion specifically increases the motivation for participants to develop healthy habits in the family. Games were designed to show how simple it is to incorporate active nature games in daily routines. |
10 | Farewell and graduation: Summary. Connectedness to Nature/outdoor play: active nature games, discovering nature, practicing awareness to sounds, touch, smells, temperature, etc. Theories used: SEM, SDT, SCT, SILT, THD to set up a final group discussion to summarize all the topics and encourage participants to continue this nature-connected, healthy lifestyle routine. |
Demographics | Participants before Random Assignment (n = 639) n (%) or M (SD) | IG (n = 467) n (%) or M (SD) | CG (n = 172) n (%) or M (SD) | t/χ2 | p | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Children | ||||||
Age (month) | 34.9 (9.5) | 34.7 (10.0) | 35.4 (8.2) | −0.844 | 0.40 | |
Sex | Boys | 332 (52.0) | 241 (51.6) | 91 (52.9) | 0.071 | 0.79 |
Families | ||||||
Primary Caregiver | Mother | 411 (64.3) | 299 (64.0) | 112 (65.1) | 6.093 | 0.30 |
Mother’s age (year) | 35.5 (3.9) | 35.4 (3.86) | 35.74 (4.05) | −1.003 | 0.32 | |
Father’s nationality | Chinese | 597 (93.4) | 438 (93.8) | 159 (92.4) | 1.753 | 0.42 |
Mother’s nationality | Chinese | 615 (96.2) | 448 (95.9) | 167 (97.1) | 0.46 | 0.98 |
Family structure | Nuclear family | 465 (72.8) | 340 (72.8) | 125 (72.7) | 1.695 | 0.64 |
Family monthly income | >40,000 HKD | 441 (69.0) | 308 (66.0) | 133 (77.3) | 8.867 | 0.11 |
Father’s education level | Post-secondary or above | 497 (77.8) | 365 (78.2) | 132 (76.7) | 0.354 | 0.84 |
Mother’s education level | Post-secondary or above | 552 (86.4) | 397 (85.0) | 155 (90.1) | 3.927 | 0.27 |
Father’s work situation | Employed | 530 (82.9) | 385 (82.4) | 145 (84.3) | 7.234 | 0.20 |
Mother’s work situation | Employed | 369 (57.7) | 249 (53.3) | 120 (69.8) | 15.591 | 0.004 |
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Sobko, T.; Brown, G.T.L. The Influence of Connectedness to Nature on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from the Randomized Controlled Trial Play&Grow. Challenges 2021, 12, 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe12010012
Sobko T, Brown GTL. The Influence of Connectedness to Nature on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from the Randomized Controlled Trial Play&Grow. Challenges. 2021; 12(1):12. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe12010012
Chicago/Turabian StyleSobko, Tanja, and Gavin T. L. Brown. 2021. "The Influence of Connectedness to Nature on Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from the Randomized Controlled Trial Play&Grow" Challenges 12, no. 1: 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/challe12010012