Malaysian children’s frequency of experiences with nature and connectedness to nature differ by age and genderMost of the published studies on children’s experiences with nature and connectedness to nature (CTN) have been conducted with children from Western countries. This study adds to the literature by focusing on children in Asia. The study aimed to identify age and gender differences in the children's experiences with nature and their CTN.
The study involved 760 children (age 10-11) from urban and rural communities in Malaysia. Questionnaires completed at school were the source of data. Questionnaire items focused on both experiences in nature and CTN. Three types of experiences with nature were addressed: direct experiences (actual contact with nature), indirect experiences (activities involving nature that do not involve direct contact), and non-nature experiences (activities not related to nature). For each area, the children indicated how often they engaged in the listed activities. CTN was measured through six constructs: nature dependence, sense of responsibility, enjoyment in nature, empathy towards nature, interest in nature activities, and interest in natural spaces.
Results indicate that, for the participating Malaysian children, age and gender influence both the frequency of their experiences with nature and their CTN. For direct experiences, however, the differences between boys and girls were not significant. For non-nature experiences, boys scored significantly higher than girls. The boys also had slightly more indirect experiences in nature than girls. The older children (eleven-year-olds) had significantly more direct, indirect, and non-nature experiences than the ten-year-olds. For CTN, girls scored significantly higher than boys; and the eleven-year-old children scored significantly higher than the ten-year-old children.
The fact that girls had higher levels of CTN than boys -- even though boys had more experiences with nature -- suggests that factors other than nature-related experiences may contribute to CTN. Such factors need to be explored in future research. As this study involved only 10- and 11-year-old children, future research should also consider children of other ages.
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