Contact with Nature in Childhood and Adult Depression

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between contact with nature in childhood and depression in adulthood. Three hundred adult participants completed a retrospective measure of contact with nature in childhood, adulthood, and current symptoms of depression. An ordinary least squares path analysis indicated that the relationship between contact with nature in childhood and depression in adulthood was mediated by contact with nature in adulthood. These findings suggest that contact with nature in childhood is related to fewer symptoms of depression in adulthood, and this may occur due to the repeated use of nature in adulthood.