Association between early childhood outdoor activity and anxiety symptoms in preschoolers
Lower frequency and shorter duration of outdoor activity during infancy (0-1 and 1-3 years) had higher odds of screening positive for anxiety symptoms in preschoolers. A frequency of ≥ 7 outdoor activity per week and a duration of ≥ 120 min/session during infancy were associated with lower levels of anxiety symptoms in preschoolers.These findings provide actionable insights for parents and caregivers, highlighting the importance of promoting outdoor activity in early childhood care and parenting practices. Future studies should further explore the causal relationship between outdoor activity and the prevention of anxiety.
Authors
- Danxia Xian
- Dali Lu
- Qiang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6253-329X)
- Shuang-Yan Qiu
- Jiemin Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7153-6123)
- Vivian Yawei Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9399-1808)
- Yan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5027-6430)
- Yuying Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2599-6604)
- Yanni Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4383-5668)
- Ziyi Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7804-0537)
- Jingyu Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5138-5372)
- Jianbo Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1349-6290)
- Fang Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1030-510X)
Institutions
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- Shenzhen University (CN)
- Shenzhen Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital (CN)
- Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CN)
- Shenzhen KangNing Hospital (CN)
- Shenzhen University Health Science Center (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Psychiatry
- Published
- 2025-04-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-025-06831-2
- Primary Topic
- Outdoor and Experiential Education
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00