Gender and temperament can influence how and to what extent children benefit from exposure to nature

The fact that that not all children are influenced to the same extent by exposure to nature provides some context for this study. The aim of the study was to examine whether the association between nature exposure and children’s happiness is influenced by temperament and/or gender. The study also sought to determine if the association between exposure to nature and children’s happiness supports the diathesis-stress or differential susceptibility models, which suggest that “children with vulnerability factors are more susceptible to unsupportive environments than children without these vulnerability factors.’

Data for this study was based on information provided by 410 Chinese children (age 7-12) and one parent of each child. There were slightly more boys (53.17%) than girls. The children completed a self-report measure of happiness (the Subjective Happiness Scale). The parents reported children’s time playing in green space and completed the Children’s Behavior Questionnaire—Very Short Form, which includes three subscales: effortful control (efficiency of executive attention), negative affectivity (tendency to react to stressors with a high degree of emotionality), and surgency (a high degree of positive affect). The study used only the scores for effortful control and negative affectivity, both considered to be central components of temperament.

Overall results showed that exposure to nature was significantly and positively linked to children’s happiness. When the data was analyzed separately for boys and girls, however, only boys’ exposure to nature was significantly linked with happiness, indicating that gender plays a role in the nature exposure/happiness relationship. This finding from China “is inconsistent with both previous theories and the empirical research conducted in Western societies,” which indicate that both boys and girls from Western society with higher levels of nature exposure experience greater happiness. In addition to the gender differences, temperament – in the area of effortful control, but not negative affectivity – also seemed to play a role in the nature exposure/happiness relationship. For boys with lower levels of effortful control, lower levels of nature exposure were associated with lower levels of happiness. Higher levels of nature exposure for these same boys, however, were associated with higher levels of happiness. “These findings support the differential susceptibility model with boys’ lower effortful control as a susceptibility factor.”

The researchers recognize several limitations of this study, including the fact that most of the participants came from working- and middle-class families in China. Generalizing to other groups requires further investigation. The researchers also note how social desirability may have influenced reports of happiness, negative affectivity, and effortful control. In spite of the limitations, this research adds to the literature by focusing on non-Western children and calling attention to the way individual characteristics and societal attributes can influence how and to what extent children benefit from exposure to nature. Specifically, this research highlights the importance of considering children’s temperament and gender in planning initiatives designed to encourage exposure to nature as a way to promote happiness. One specific recommendation is for practitioners to encourage boys – particularly boys with lower effortful control – to spend more time in natural environments.