From September 2004, Vol 94, No. 9 | American Journal of Public Health 1580-1586
© 2004 American Public Health Association
A Potential Natural Treatment for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity
Disorder: Evidence From a National Study
Frances E. Kuo, PhD and Andrea Faber Taylor, PhD
Frances E. Kuo is with the Department of Natural Resources and
Environmental Sciences and the Department of Psychology, University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Andrea Faber Taylor is with the Department
of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Frances E. Kuo,
PhD, Human Environment Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, 1103 S Dorner Dr, Urbana, IL 61801 (e-mail: fekuo@uiuc.edu).
Objectives. We examined the impact of relatively "green" or natural
settings on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms
across diverse subpopulations of children.
Methods. Parents nationwide rated the aftereffects of 49 common
after-school and weekend activities on children’s symptoms. Aftereffects
were compared for activities conducted in green outdoor settings versus
those conducted in both built outdoor and indoor settings.
Results. In this national, nonprobability sample, green outdoor activities
reduced symptoms significantly more than did activities conducted in other
settings, even when activities were matched across settings. Findings were
consistent across age, gender, and income groups; community types;
geographic regions; and diagnoses.
Conclusions. Green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in
children across a wide range of individual, residential, and case
characteristics.
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