Gray space and green space proximity associated with higher anxiety in youth with autism

Lincoln R Larson; Brian Barger; Scott Ogletree; Julia Torquati; Steven Rosenberg; Cassandra Johnson Gaither; Jody Marie Bartz; Andrew Gardner; Eric Moody; Anne Schutte

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.006

Gray space and green space proximity associated with higher anxiety in youth with autism

Health Place. 2018 Sep:53:94-102. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.006. Epub 2018 Jul 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. Electronic address: LRLarson@ncsu.edu.
² School of Public Health, Center for Leadership in Disability, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA. Electronic address: bbarger1@gsu.edu.
³ Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism Management, College of Behavioral, Social, and Health Sciences, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA. Electronic address: sogletr@clemson.edu.
⁴ Dept. of Child, Youth and Family Studies, College of Education and Human Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. Electronic address: jtorquati@unl.edu.
⁵ Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Electronic address: steven.rosenberg@ucdenver.edu.
⁶ U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Southern Research Station, Athens, GA 30602, USA. Electronic address: cjohnson09@fs.fed.us.
⁷ Dept. of Health and Human Development, College of Education, Health and Human Development, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. Electronic address: jody.bartz@montana.edu.
⁸ Dept. of Psychology, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011, USA. Electronic address: andrew.gardner@nau.edu.
⁹ JFK Partners, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USA. Electronic address: eric.moody@uwyo.edu.
¹⁰ Dept. of Psychology, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA. Electronic address: aschutte2@unl.edu.

PMID: 30059898
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.07.006

Abstract

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 children. Children with ASD might experience the stress-reducing benefits of nature differently than their typically developing peers. More research using objective diagnostic metrics at finer spatial scales would help to illuminate complex relationships between green space, anxiety, and other co-morbid conditions in youth with ASD.

Keywords: Anxiety; Autism; Children; Mental health; Nature.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Anxiety / psychology*
Autism Spectrum Disorder / complications*
Child
Female
Forests
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Models, Statistical
Trees*
United States