Paving the Way for Outdoor Play: Examining Socio-Environmental Barriers to Community-Based Outdoor Play

Janet Loebach, Marcos Sanches, Julia Jaffe and Tara Elton-Marshall
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Janet Loebach: Department of Design + Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, NY 14853, USA
Marcos Sanches: Krembli Centre for Neuroinformatics, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada
Julia Jaffe: Department of Design + Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, NY 14853, USA
Tara Elton-Marshall: Centre for Addiction and Mental, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, London, ON N6G 4X8, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 7, 1-25

Abstract: Outdoor play and independent, neighborhood activity, both linked with healthy childhood development, have declined dramatically among Western children in recent decades. This study examines how social, cultural and environmental factors may be hindering children’s outdoor and community-based play. A comprehensive survey was completed by 826 children (aged 10–13 years) and their parents from 12 schools (four each urban, suburban and rural) from a large county in Ontario, Canada. Five multilevel regression models, controlling for any school clustering effect, examined associations between outdoor play time per week and variable sets representing five prevalent factors cited in the literature as influencing children’s outdoor play (OP). Models predicted that younger children and boys were more likely to spend time playing outdoors; involvement in organized physical activities, other children nearby to play with, higher perception of benefits of outdoor play, and higher parental perceptions of neighborhood social cohesion also predicted more time in outdoor play. Time outdoors was less likely among children not allowed to play beyond home without supervision, felt they were ‘too busy’ with screen-based activities, and who reported higher fears related to playing outdoors. Study findings have important implications for targeting environmental, cultural and policy changes to foster child-friendly communities which effectively support healthy outdoor play.

Keywords: outdoor play; time outdoors; independent mobility; community environments; neighborhood; barriers; screen-based activity; community planning; child-friendly communities (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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