In this study, Nancy M. Wells and Kristi S. Lekies examine linkages between childhood nature experiences and adult environmental attitudes and behaviors. Data for this study were collected as part of a large telephone survey, which interviewed about 2,000 individuals, 18-90 years of age, in over 100 urban areas in the United States. In this survey, participants answered a number of questions about their nature-related experiences during childhood and their current environmental attitudes and behaviors. To analyze the survey data, Wells and Lekies used structural equation modeling, which enabled them to test complex relationships between childhood nature experiences and adult environmental attitudes and behaviors. In their analysis, the authors controlled for a number of socio-demographic variables (e.g., gender and race). Wells and Lekies found that childhood participation with
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