Outdoor play and nature-based activities can help buffer some of the harm the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the mental health of adolescents, a new study suggests.
Researchers say the findings point to outdoor play and nature-based activities as a tool to help teenagers cope with major stressors like the pandemic, as well as future natural disasters and other global stressors. They also underscore the mental health implications of restricting outdoor recreation opportunities for adolescents, and the need to increase access to the outdoors.
“Things happen in life, and getting kids outside regularly is an easy way to build some mental resilience,” Stevenson said.
In a survey conducted from April 30 to June 15, 2020, the researchers asked 624 children and teenagers between the ages of 10 to 18 years to report their participation in outdoor recreation both before the pandemic and after social distancing measures went into effect across the United States. They also asked participants about their subjective well-being, a measure of happiness, and mental health.
The findings reveal the pandemic had an impact on the well-being of many teens in the survey, with nearly 52 percent reporting declines in subjective well-being. The researchers also saw declines in teens’ ability to get outside, with 64 percent reporting their outdoor activity participation fell during the early months of the pandemic.
Despite these declines in outdoor activity participation, nearly 77 percent of teens surveyed believed that spending time outside helped them deal with stress associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Benefits Across the Board
When they broke down recreation by type, the researchers saw participation in outdoor play activities such as sports, biking, going for walks, runs, or skating declined by 41.6 percent; nature-based activities such as camping, hiking, fishing, hunting, and paddling dropped by 39.7 percent; and outdoor family activities declined by 28.6 percent. In those early months of the pandemic, about 60 percent of teens say they spent time outside once a week or less.“We saw declines in all three types of outdoor recreation participation,” Jackson said. “Nature-based activities had the lowest participation before and during the pandemic, which may point to the need for more access to natural spaces in general.”
Kids who didn’t get outside as much saw declines in well-being, but those who got outside both before and during the pandemic maintained higher levels of well-being.
Outdoor Play Can Do a World of Good
Teens who had high rates of outdoor play before the pandemic were more resistant to negative changes in social well-being. Those who got outside frequently before the pandemic were more likely to experience a lesser decline in well-being, regardless of participation during the pandemic. And, for teens able to play outside or get involved in nature-based activities during the pandemic, their well-being was on par with pre-pandemic levels.The study’s findings also point to strategies to help kids navigate future global stressor events, as well as the importance of ensuring access to outdoor recreation. They help define the risks associated with policies that reduce kids’ ability to get outside.
“Going outside and participating in activities that provide exposure to nature, physical activity, and safe social interaction during the pandemic were really powerful in terms of improving kids’ resilience,” Jackson said.
