Towe-Goodman and many colleagues investigated links between living near green spaces (for instance, forests, parks, residential yards) and mental health. They learned via studying over 2000 children living in 41 US states that “greater residential green space exposure [from birth and within an area up to ¾ of a mile from home] was associated with fewer internalizing symptoms [for example, anxiety and depression] in early childhood but not in middle childhood. . . . Green space exposure was measured using a biannual (ie, summer and winter) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, a satellite image–based indicator of vegetation density assigned to monthly residential history from birth to outcome assessment. . . . Outcomes were assessed at mean . . . ages of 4.2 . . . years in . . . children aged 2 to 5 years and 7.8 . . . years in . . . children aged 6 to 11 years. . . . the association of green space with fewer internalizing symptoms was observed only in early childhood, suggesting a sensitive period for nature exposure.”
Nissa Towe-Goodman, Kristen McArthur, Michael Willoughby, and 25 others. 2024. “Green Space and Internalizing or Externalizing Symptoms Among Children.” Jama Network Open, vol. 7, no. 4, e2455742, doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.5742