Parental Mental Well-Being and Frequency of Adult-Child Nature Visits: The Mediating Roles of Parents’ Perceived Barriers

Jasmine Gustafsson, Ann Ojala, Pauliina Hiltunen, Elina Engberg, Annika Wiklund-Engblom, Nea Törnwall, Eva Roos and Carola Ray
Additional contact information
Jasmine Gustafsson: Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Ann Ojala: Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), FI-00791 Helsinki, Finland
Pauliina Hiltunen: Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Elina Engberg: Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Annika Wiklund-Engblom: Folkhälsans Förbund, FI-65100 Vaasa, Finland
Nea Törnwall: Folkhälsans Förbund, FI-65100 Vaasa, Finland
Eva Roos: Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Carola Ray: Public Health Research Program, Folkhälsan Research Center, FI-00250 Helsinki, Finland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-12

Abstract: Regular access to green space has been shown to provide several health benefits for children. However, children today spend less time outdoors. Thus, it has become important to understand what drives and limits children’s activities in nature. Based on a Finnish online survey of 1463 parents of children aged 2–7 conducted in 2019, the current study examined parents’ perceived barriers to visiting nature with their children. It also examined how parental mental well-being is related to families’ frequency of nature visits, and whether this association is mediated by different categories of parents’ perceived barriers. Eleven out of 12 barriers were largely perceived by parents as reasons that did not prevent them from visiting nature with their children. Next, factor analysis indicated a three-factor solution to the barriers. The results of a multiple mediation analysis showed that better parental mental well-being was associated with more frequent adult-child nature visits, and this relationship was partially mediated by a “lack of competence and logistics” and a “lack of time and interest”, but not by “insecurity and fear”. The results indicated that parents with poor mental well-being were more likely to perceive barriers to visiting nature, which in turn appeared to be related to a higher likelihood of having children who visited nature less frequently.

Keywords: nature visits; parental factors; barriers to visiting nature; early childhood; mediation analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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