LNCI General Research
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Growing Research -- Health Benefits of Outdoor, Nature-Based Activities and Unstructured Play

Compiled by the Leave No Child Inside Initiative

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). “The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds.” Pediatrics, 119(1), 182-191.
 
Burdette, Hillary L., M.D., M.S.; and Robert C. Whitaker, M.D, M.P.H. "Resurrecting Free Play in Young Children: Looking Beyond Fitness and Fatness to Attention, Affiliation and Affect." © 2005 American Medical Association.
 
Taylor, A.F., Wiley, A., Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (1998). Growing up in the inner city: Green spaces as places to grow. Environment & Behavior, (30)1, 3-27.
 
Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (2001). Coping with ADD: The surprising connection to green play settings. Environment & Behavior, 33(1), 54-77.
 
Faber Taylor, A., Kuo, F.E., & Sullivan, W.C. (2002). Views of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner-city children. Journal of Environmental Psychology, Special Issue: Environment and Children, 22, 49-63.
 
Kuo, F.E., & Faber Taylor, A. (2004). A potential natural treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 94(9), 1580-1586 .
 
Faber Taylor, A. & Kuo, F.E. (2006). Is contact with nature important for healthy child development? State of the evidence. In Spencer, C. & Blades, M. (Eds.), Children and Their Environments: Learning, Using and Designing Spaces. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, U.K.
 
Faber Taylor, A. & Kuo, F.E. Children with attention deficits concentrate better after walk in the park. Journal of Attention Disorders, 12, 402-409.
 
Lester, S., & Maudsley, M. (2006). “Play, naturally: A review of children's natural play.” Children's Play Council.
 
Wells, N. M., & Lekies, K. S. (2006). “Nature and the life course: Pathways from childhood nature experiences to adult environmentalism.” Children, Youth and Environments, 16(1).
Maller, C., Townsend, M., St.Leger, L., Henderson-Wilson, C., Pryor, A., Prosser, L., and Moore, M. (2008). “The health benefits of contact with nature in a park context: A review of relevant literature.” Deakin University and Parks Victoria.
 
Hinkley, T., Crawford, D., Salmon, J., Okely, A. D., & Hesketh, K. (2008). “Preschool children and physical activity - A review of correlates.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 34(5), 435-441.
 
de Vries, S. I., Bakker, I., van Mechelen, W., & Hopman-Rock, M. (2007). “Determinants of activity-friendly neighborhoods for children: Results from the SPACE study.” American Journal of Health Promotion, 21(4), 312-316.
 
Thompson, C. W., Aspinall, P., & Montarzino, A. (2008). “The childhood factor - Adult visits to green places and the significance of childhood experience. “Environment and behavior, 40(1), 111-143.
 
Hofferth, S.L. & J.F. Sandberg. “Changes in American Children’s Time, 1981-1997.” In S.L. Hofferth & T.J. Owens (Eds.), Children at the Millennium: Where Have We Come From, Where Are We Going? (pp. 1-7). New York: JAI, 2001.
 
Taylor, Andrea Faber; and Frances E. Kuo. "Is Contact with Nature Important for Healthy Child Development? State of the Evidence." In Spencer, C. & Blades, M. (Eds.), Children and Their Environments: Learning, Using and Designing Spaces. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.
 
Taylor, Andrea Faber; Frances E. Kuo; and William C. Sullivan. In Environment and Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 1, January 2001. © 2001 Sage Publications, Inc.
 
Taylor, Andrea Faber; Frances E. Kuo; and William C. Sullivan. "Views of Nature and Self-Discipline: Evidence from Inner City Children." In the Journal of Environmental Psychology, 21, 2001. © 2001 Academic Press.
 
Wells, N.M., and Evans, G.W. "Nearby Nature: A Buffer of Life Stress Among Rural Children." Environment and Behavior. Vol. 35:3, 311-330.
 
Wells, N.M. "At Home with Nature: Effects of 'Greenness' on Children's Cognitive Functioning." Environment and Behavior. Vol. 32, No. 6, 775-795.

 

Some of the above articles are available to download on the following websites:

lhhl.illinois.edu/all.scientific.articles.htm

www.childrenandnature.org/research

 
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There are a number of great research resources available.  Here are a few we recommend.

 

Children & Nature Network

Landscape and Human Health Laboratory (University of Illinois)