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This version was published on January 1, 2008
Environment and Behavior, Vol. 40, No. 1, 111-143 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0013916507300119

The Childhood Factor

Adult Visits to Green Places and the Significance of Childhood Experience

Catharine Ward Thompson

Edinburgh College of Art

Peter Aspinall

Heriot-Watt University

Alicia Montarzino

Heriot-Watt University

This article explores the significance of childhood experience of woodlands and other green or natural places in relation to adult patterns of use and attitudes to such places. It draws on data collected in different parts of Britain. Questionnaires were used to explore the frequency of adults' visits to green places, the frequency with which they reported visiting such places as children, and their attitudes to different attributes of the places they visited. The data show a strong relationship between frequent childhood visits and being prepared to visit woodlands or green spaces alone as an adult. By contrast, not visiting as a child was associated with a very low likelihood of later adult visits. The data also suggest that the physical and the emotional benefits of access to green space are strongly reflected in childhood experience. The significance of these findings for today's children, as they become adults, is discussed.

Key Words: childhood • green places • woodlands • green space • access


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