Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents' Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 5; p. 2506
• Main Authors: Jackson, S Brent, Stevenson, Kathryn T, Larson, Lincoln R, Peterson, M Nils, Seekamp, Erin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 03.03.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescents; Child; Child & adolescent mental health; Children & youth; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Families & family life; Humans; Infections; Mental Health; Outdoor activities; Pandemics; Participation; Physical fitness; Polls & surveys; Post traumatic stress disorder; Psychological factors; Quarantine; Recreation; SARS-CoV-2; Social capital; Social distancing; Teenagers; Trends; United States - epidemiology; Viral infections; United States; COVID-19; outdoor activities; adolescents; resilience; mental health; subjective well-being
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18052506

COVID-19 is reshaping human interactions with the natural environment, potentially generating profound consequences for health and well-being. To assess the effects of COVID-19 on the outdoor recreation participation and subjective well-being of adolescents, as well as how participation in outdoor activities may mitigate declines in subjective well-being, we used a Qualtrics XM panel to conduct a nationally representative survey of youth ages 10-18 across the United States ( = 624) between 30 April and 15 June 2020. Survey questions focused on frequency of participation in outdoor activities before and during the pandemic, as well as changes in subjective well-being. Paired -tests revealed decreases in both outdoor recreation participation (64% reported declines) and subjective well-being (52% reported declines). A regression model examining correlates of changes in subjective well-being ( = 0.42) revealed strong associations with changes in outdoor play ( = 0.44, < 0.001) and nature-based ( = 0.21, = 0.016) activities. Adolescents' from all backgrounds who participated in these activities during the pandemic reported smaller declines in subjective well-being. Results highlight the critical role that time outdoors and time in nature play in bolstering adolescents' resilience to stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and underscore the need to facilitate outdoor recreation opportunities for youth during times of crisis.