Time Spent Outdoors and Resilience : An Exploratory Look at “Nature Deficit Disorder.”

Abstract

"Nature Deficit Disorder" is the phrase used by Richard Louvto describe the behavioral and psychological costs of minimal contact with nature. While this is not a clinical disorder, it creates questions about the connection between exposure to the outdoors and mental health, and inspired this study. There is a large body of research on resilience, the ability to "persevere and adapt when things go awry". The link between time spent outdoors and resilience has not been explored in any depth. Most studies link nature deficit to pathologies, where this study examines substantial time in nature and its possible connection to flourishing, and is one of the first of its kind. This study investigated this possible relationship through use of an online survey containing two measures of resilience and questions about participants' time spent outdoors.