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Articles 1 - 4 of 4
Full-Text Articles in Family, Life Course, and Society
Gray Space And Green Space Proximity Associated With Higher Anxiety In Youth With Autism, Lincoln R. Lawson, Brian Barger, Scott Ogletree, Julia C. Torquati, Steven Rosenberg, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Jodie Marie Bartz, Andrew Gardner, Eric Moody, Anne R. Schutte
Gray Space And Green Space Proximity Associated With Higher Anxiety In Youth With Autism, Lincoln R. Lawson, Brian Barger, Scott Ogletree, Julia C. Torquati, Steven Rosenberg, Cassandra Johnson Gaither, Jodie Marie Bartz, Andrew Gardner, Eric Moody, Anne R. Schutte
Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications
This study used ZIP code level data on children's health (National Survey of Children's Health, 2012) and land cover (National Land Cover Database, 2011) from across the United States to investigate connections between proximity to green space (tree canopy), gray space (impervious surfaces), and expression of a critical co-morbid condition, anxiety, in three groups of youth: children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD, n=1501), non-ASD children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN, n=15,776), and typically developing children (n=53,650). Both impervious surface coverage and tree canopy coverage increased the risk of severe anxiety in youth with autism, but not CSHCN or typical …
Preschool Children’S Biophilia And Attitudes Toward Nature: The Effect Of Personal Experiences, Ruddy E. Yanez, Bronwyn S. Fees, Julia C. Torquati
Preschool Children’S Biophilia And Attitudes Toward Nature: The Effect Of Personal Experiences, Ruddy E. Yanez, Bronwyn S. Fees, Julia C. Torquati
Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications
Regular engagement outside may promote healthy physical and psychological development as well as a respect and appreciation for nature. This exploratory study compared biophilia and attitudes toward nature between young children living in an urban area to those in a rural area. Urban and rural areas may offer different opportunities for exposure and engagement with elements such as water, plants, and animals. A comparison between young children in these settings may determine if experience in these different environments affects their attitudes and biophilia. Thirty-six children (urban n = 27; rural n = 9) participated in one-on-one structured interviews about their …
Scaffolding As A Tool For Environmental Education In Early Childhood, Alex Zurek, Julia C. Torquati, Ibrahim H. Acar
Scaffolding As A Tool For Environmental Education In Early Childhood, Alex Zurek, Julia C. Torquati, Ibrahim H. Acar
Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications
This paper describes the process of “scaffolding” as a teaching strategy in early childhood education, and demonstrates how scaffolding can promote children’s learning about the natural environment. Examples of scaffolding are provided from seventy-four running record observations made over a two-year period in a nature-based preschool program. Qualitative analysis examined the extent to which scaffolding was used to support children’s learning about nature; the types of scaffolding strategies used by teachers; whether high- and low-support strategies were used in specific types of situations; the effectiveness of scaffolding; and what children learned when teachers engaged them in scaffolding. Examples illustrate specific …
Assessing Connections Between Young Children’S Affinity For Nature And Their Experiences In Natural Outdoor Settings In Preschools, Camilla S. Rice, Julia C. Torquati
Assessing Connections Between Young Children’S Affinity For Nature And Their Experiences In Natural Outdoor Settings In Preschools, Camilla S. Rice, Julia C. Torquati
Department of Child, Youth, and Family Studies: Faculty Publications
The purposes of this research were to: develop a reliable measure of children’s affinity for nature or “biophilia”; determine whether young children’s biophilia was related to the “green-ness” of the outdoor play area of the preschool they attend; examine whether demographic variables are associated with children’s biophilia; and determine whether demographic variables predict children’s enrollment in nature-oriented programs. We recruited children from ten early childhood education programs—six that had outdoor play spaces with many natural elements and four that had few or none of these elements. One hundred fourteen preschool-aged children completed an 11-item measure of biophilia that included preferences …