Elementary Classroom Views of Nature Are Associated with Lower Child Externalizing Behavior Problems

Area of Science:

• Environmental psychology
• Child development
• Public health

Background:

• Exposure to nature offers mental health benefits, but research often focuses on adults and residential views.
• Studies in children suggest greenness improves academic performance and attention, yet often use subjective measures and overlook young children.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between objectively measured visible nature from classrooms and children's behavioral problems.
• To examine specific nature types (trees, grass, sky) and their impact on attention and externalizing behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Assessed visible nature from classroom windows using images in 86 children (ages 7-9) across 15 classrooms.
• Quantified nature views (overall, trees, grass, sky) and used Tobit regression to analyze associations with behavior problems, controlling for covariates.

Main Results:

• Higher visible nature from classrooms, particularly trees, was associated with lower externalizing behavior scores.
• No significant associations were found for attention problems.
• Findings remained consistent after adjusting for potential confounders like residential nature views.

Conclusions:

• Classroom exposure to visible nature, especially trees, may benefit children's mental health by reducing externalizing behaviors.
• Results have implications for school design and urban planning to incorporate nature for child well-being.