Plain English Summary
Background and study aims
Children spend less time in nature than ever before and there is concern that this negatively impacts children’s cognitive (mental) abilities, particularly their ability to direct their attention. Theories such as the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) suggest that contact with nature may replenish endogenous attention (directed, voluntary attention). There is a lack of research on how contact with nature is associated with attention in children. The aim of this study is to evaluate if children who are exposed to natural environments during a 30 minute reflective walk would be better at endogenous attention.
Who can participate?
Children aged eight to 15 years old who are able to complete a 30 minute walk.
What does the study involve?
Prior to treatment, participants in both groups complete the Combined Attention Systems Task (CAST), a series of game-based tasks on a computer to measure attention. Participants are allocated to one of two groups. Those in the first week complete a 30 minute walk through a busy downtown neighbourhood. Those in the second group complete a 30-40 minute walk through a relatively pristine urban forest. After the walk, participants complete the CAST again.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
There are no direct benefits with participating however participants may benefit from 30 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity which is known to promote healthy development in children and adolescents. Participants are at risk of boredom, fatigue, and frustration. These risks are reduced by providing breaks to participants during testing or at any time at the request of the participant. Participants are allowed to remove themselves from the study at any time.
Where is the study run from?
This study is run by Dalhousie University (Canada) and takes place in an urban or forested environment.
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2012 to June 2014
Who is funding the study?
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (Canada)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Shannon Johnson
Trial website
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
2012-2698
Study information
Scientific title
Dose-dependent effects of virtual environments on attention
Acronym
Study hypothesis
Children who were exposed to natural environments during a 30-minute reflective walk would demonstrate specific improvements in endogenous attention.
Ethics approval
Dalhousie University Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Board, 21/08/2012
Study design
Interventional single-centre study
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Non randomised study
Trial setting
Community
Trial type
Other
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format. Please use contact details to request a participant information sheet.
Condition
Exogenous and endogenous attention
Intervention
Participants are assigned to one of two study conditions, either the urban walk or the nature walk. Participants blindly assigned themselves to study condition as they are informed that there were two possible locations to which they could be assigned and then where asked to select a participation date, following which the testing location prescheduled for that date was revealed.
Condition 1 (Urban Walk): Participants engage in a guided walk of a typical urban environment for 30 minutes (around 1.25 miles).
Condition 2 (Natural Walk): Participants engage in a guided walk of a typical urban forested-park environment for 40 minutes (around 1.25 miles)
Participants fill out a demographic and history questionnaire as well as the connectedness to nature scale questionnaire in advance of exposure to either condition. The CAST (Combined Attention Systems Task) is administered to all participants before and after exposure to either condition.
There is no further follow-up to this study.
Intervention type
Other
Phase
Drug names
Primary outcome measure
Endogenous and Exogenous attention are measured using the Combined Attention Systems Task (CAST) at baseline and immediately post-treatment.
Secondary outcome measures
1. Intelligence quotient (IQ) is measured using the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI) at baseline
2. Association with nature is measured using Connectedness to nature scale (CNS) at baseline
Overall trial start date
01/07/2012
Overall trial end date
30/06/2014
Reason abandoned (if study stopped)
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
1. Aged between 8-15 years
2. IQ: >=80
3. Normal or corrected-to-normal vision
4. No history of psychiatric/psychological diagnoses
5. No history of severe head injury
6. No significant neurological disorders affecting the central nervous system
Participant type
Healthy volunteer
Age group
Child
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
70
Participant exclusion criteria
1. Inability to walk for 30 minutes
Recruitment start date
01/10/2012
Recruitment end date
01/10/2013
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Canada
Trial participating centre
Dalhousie University
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
1355 Oxford Road
Halifax
B3H4R2
Canada
Sponsor information
Organisation
Dalhousie University
Sponsor details
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience
1355 Oxford Street
PO Box 15000
Halifax
B3H4R2
Canada
+01 902 494 3417
psychology@dal.ca
Sponsor type
University/education
Website
Funders
Funder type
Research council
Funder name
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Alternative name(s)
SSHRC
Funding Body Type
government organisation
Funding Body Subtype
Federal/National Government
Location
Canada
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
A manuscript has already been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed high-impact scientific journal as of May 2017.
IPD sharing statement:
The (de-identified) datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are/will be available upon request from Dr. Shannon Johnson (shannon.johnson@dal.ca)
Intention to publish date
31/05/2017
Participant level data
Available on request
Basic results (scientific)
Publication list