IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i12p2668-d185885.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of Green Space Exposure on Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Gert-Jan Vanaken

    (Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Centre Leuven, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

  • Marina Danckaerts

    (Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Psychiatric Centre Leuven, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium)

Abstract

In recent years, the interest in the relationship between exposure to green spaces and children’s and adolescents’ mental health has risen. This systematic review aims to provide an overview of observational studies assessing the association between empirical green space exposure with standardized outcome measures of mental health problems, mental well-being and developmental problems in children, adolescents and young adults. The PRISMA statement guidelines for reporting systematic reviews were followed. A PubMed and Scopus search resulted in the inclusion of 21 studies. The evidence consistently suggests a beneficial association between green space exposure and children’s emotional and behavioral difficulties, particularly with hyperactivity and inattention problems. Limited evidence suggests a beneficial association with mental well-being in children and depressive symptoms in adolescents and young adults. These beneficial associations are resistant to adjustment for demographic and socio-economic confounders, which thus may represent independent links. Mediating factors and the variability of this association between different age groups are discussed. From a precautionary principle, evidence up to now demands the attention of policy makers, urban planners and mental healthcare workers in order to protect children’s and adolescents’ mental health in light of rapid global urbanization by providing sufficient exposure to green spaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Gert-Jan Vanaken & Marina Danckaerts, 2018. "Impact of Green Space Exposure on Children’s and Adolescents’ Mental Health: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:12:p:2668-:d:185885
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2668/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/12/2668/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jun-Hyun Kim & Chanam Lee & Wonmin Sohn, 2016. "Urban Natural Environments, Obesity, and Health-Related Quality of Life among Hispanic Children Living in Inner-City Neighborhoods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Xiaoqi Feng & Thomas Astell-Burt, 2017. "The Relationship between Neighbourhood Green Space and Child Mental Wellbeing Depends upon Whom You Ask: Multilevel Evidence from 3083 Children Aged 12–13 Years," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Mireia Gascon & Margarita Triguero-Mas & David Martínez & Payam Dadvand & Joan Forns & Antoni Plasència & Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, 2015. "Mental Health Benefits of Long-Term Exposure to Residential Green and Blue Spaces: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-26, April.
    4. David Moher & Alessandro Liberati & Jennifer Tetzlaff & Douglas G Altman & The PRISMA Group, 2009. "Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(7), pages 1-6, July.
    5. United Nations, 2016. "The Sustainable Development Goals 2016," Working Papers id:11456, eSocialSciences.
    6. Birute Balseviciene & Liuda Sinkariova & Regina Grazuleviciene & Sandra Andrusaityte & Inga Uzdanaviciute & Audrius Dedele & Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, 2014. "Impact of Residential Greenness on Preschool Children’s Emotional and Behavioral Problems," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Kheng Siang Ted Ng & Angelia Sia & Maxel K. W. Ng & Crystal T. Y. Tan & Hui Yu Chan & Chay Hoon Tan & Iris Rawtaer & Lei Feng & Rathi Mahendran & Anis Larbi & Ee Heok Kua & Roger C. M. Ho, 2018. "Effects of Horticultural Therapy on Asian Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-14, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Amanda Alderton & Karen Villanueva & Meredith O’Connor & Claire Boulangé & Hannah Badland, 2019. "Reducing Inequities in Early Childhood Mental Health: How Might the Neighborhood Built Environment Help Close the Gap? A Systematic Search and Critical Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-23, April.
    2. Phi-Yen Nguyen & Thomas Astell-Burt & Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space Quality and Health: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-38, October.
    3. Matthew H. E. M. Browning & Alessandro Rigolon, 2019. "School Green Space and Its Impact on Academic Performance: A Systematic Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-22, February.
    4. Jason Corburn, 2017. "Urban Place and Health Equity: Critical Issues and Practices," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-10, January.
    5. Dorsa Alipour & Hussein Dia, 2023. "A Systematic Review of the Role of Land Use, Transport, and Energy-Environment Integration in Shaping Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-29, April.
    6. Yijun Zhang & Suzanne Mavoa & Jinfeng Zhao & Deborah Raphael & Melody Smith, 2020. "The Association between Green Space and Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-26, September.
    7. Suzanne Tillmann & Andrew F. Clark & Jason A. Gilliland, 2018. "Children and Nature: Linking Accessibility of Natural Environments and Children’s Health-Related Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-15, May.
    8. Song Song & Ruoxiang Tu & Yao Lu & Shi Yin & Hankun Lin & Yiqiang Xiao, 2022. "Restorative Effects from Green Exposure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Control Trials," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-22, November.
    9. Sujin Park & Eunsoo Kim & Geonwoo Kim & Soojin Kim & Yeji Choi & Domyung Paek, 2022. "What Activities in Forests Are Beneficial for Human Health? A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-29, February.
    10. Xiaoqi Feng & Thomas Astell-Burt, 2017. "The Relationship between Neighbourhood Green Space and Child Mental Wellbeing Depends upon Whom You Ask: Multilevel Evidence from 3083 Children Aged 12–13 Years," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-11, February.
    11. Michelle C. Kondo & Jaime M. Fluehr & Thomas McKeon & Charles C. Branas, 2018. "Urban Green Space and Its Impact on Human Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-28, March.
    12. Nooshin Razani & Nancy K. Hills & Doug Thompson & George W. Rutherford, 2020. "The Association of Knowledge, Attitudes and Access with Park Use before and after a Park-Prescription Intervention for Low-Income Families in the U.S," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-13, January.
    13. Amanda Alderton & Meredith O’Connor & Hannah Badland & Lucy Gunn & Claire Boulangé & Karen Villanueva, 2022. "Access to and Quality of Neighbourhood Public Open Space and Children’s Mental Health Outcomes: Evidence from Population Linked Data across Eight Australian Capital Cities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-25, June.
    14. Philip Hallinger & Vien-Thong Nguyen, 2020. "Mapping the Landscape and Structure of Research on Education for Sustainable Development: A Bibliometric Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, March.
    15. Matthew Browning & Kangjae Lee, 2017. "Within What Distance Does “Greenness” Best Predict Physical Health? A Systematic Review of Articles with GIS Buffer Analyses across the Lifespan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, June.
    16. Katharina Stahlmann & Emily Mena & Ronny Kuhnert & André Conrad & Gabriele Bolte, 2022. "Social Inequalities in the Association between Social Infrastructure and Mental Health: An Observational Cross-Sectional Analysis of Children and Adolescents in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-18, June.
    17. Oleg Dashkevych & Boris A. Portnov, 2022. "Criteria for Smart City Identification: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-34, April.
    18. Charlotte Wendelboe-Nelson & Sarah Kelly & Marion Kennedy & John W. Cherrie, 2019. "A Scoping Review Mapping Research on Green Space and Associated Mental Health Benefits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-49, June.
    19. Kaili Chen & Tianzheng Zhang & Fangyuan Liu & Yingjie Zhang & Yan Song, 2021. "How Does Urban Green Space Impact Residents’ Mental Health: A Literature Review of Mediators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-27, November.
    20. Andreas Fröberg & Suzanne Lundvall, 2021. "The Distinct Role of Physical Education in the Context of Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development Goals: An Explorative Review and Suggestions for Future Work," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-16, October.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:12:p:2668-:d:185885. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.