Was having a safely walkable park nearby linked to better mental health for parents and children during the pandemic?

Details

Time spent outdoors and in nature has been associated with numerous benefits to health and well-being. This study examined relationships between park access and mental health in children and parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also explored associations with parent-child participation together in outdoor time and with physical activity in children and parents.

This observational analysis used data from 1,000 respondents to a nationally representative U.S. survey of parent-child dyads conducted in October–November 2020. The sample included 500 parents of children ages 6–10 years and 500 parent-child dyads with children ages 11–17 years.

Park access meant answering yes to the question, “do you have a park that you can safely walk to within 10 min of your home?” Children's mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) total difficulties score. Parents' mental health was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4) total score, and their physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Children's physical activity and parent-child participation together in outdoor activity were reported as the number of days in the previous week. The researchers used linear regression to examine relationships between park access and health outcomes, adjusting for child and parent characteristics and COVID-19 impact.

Park access was associated with a lower SDQ total difficulties score in children (β: -1.26; 95% CI: -2.25, -0.27) and a lower PHQ-4 total score in parents (β: -0.89; 95% CI: -1.39, -0.40). In models stratified by child age, these associations were observed for SDQ scores among adolescents ages 11–17 years and for PHQ-4 scores among parents of children ages 6–10 years.

Park access was also associated with 0.50 more days per week of parent-child outdoor time together (95% CI: 0.16, 0.84) and higher parent physical activity (β: 1009 MET-min/week; 95% CI: 301, 1717), but not with child physical activity (β: 0.31 days/week; 95% CI: -0.03, 0.66).

The researchers concluded that park access was associated with better mental health in children and parents, more parent physical activity, and more parent-child outdoor time together during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearby parks may be an important resource for promoting health and well-being for both individuals and families.