Objective
To assess the relationship between greenspace exposure and childhood internalizing
and externalizing behaviors.
Study design
We analyzed data from the Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study, an
ongoing prospective birth cohort. Greenspace exposure was estimated based on children's
addresses using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) images. Neurobehavioral
outcomes were assessed using the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second
Edition. Regression models adjusted for neighborhood deprivation, maternal education,
race, and sex assessed the risk for problematic internalizing and externalizing behaviors
at residential greenspace buffers of 200, 400, and 800 m.
Results
There were 562 and 313 children in our age 7- and 12-year analyses, respectively.
At age 7 years, a 0.1-unit increase in NDVI was associated with decreased conduct
scores (β = -1.10, 95% CI [-2.14, -0.06], 200 m). At age 12 years, a 0.1-unit increase
in NDVI was associated with a decrease in anxiety scores (β = -1.83, 95% CI [-3.44,
-0.22], 800 m), decreased depression scores (β = -1.36, 95% CI [-2.61, -0.12], 200
m), and decreased somatization scores (β = -1.83, 95% CI [-3.22, -0.44], 200 m).
Conclusions
This study provides evidence that increased exposure to residential greenspace is
associated with reduced youth's problematic internal and external behaviors, measured
by Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, at ages 7 and 12 years.
Improved understanding of this mechanism could allow for implementation of neighborhood-level
approaches for reducing the risk for childhood behavioral problems.
Keywords
Abbreviations:
BASC-2 (Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Parent Rating Scale, Second Edition), CCAAPS (Cincinnati Childhood Allergy and Air Pollution Study), NDVI (Normalized difference vegetation index)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: December 10, 2018
Accepted:
October 26,
2018
Received in revised form:
September 25,
2018
Received:
July 19,
2018
Footnotes
Supported by grants from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ( 5R01ES011170 and R01ES019890 ). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Portions of this study were presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting, May 5-8, 2018, Toronto, Ontario.
Identification
Copyright
© 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
