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Development and Validation of Scales to
Development and Validation of Scales to Understand Views on Spending Time in Nature
Despite strong evidence confirming the health benefits of spending time in nature, recent efforts to incorporate natural elements into urban planning and increasing support for “green prescriptions” from health care providers, most Americans spend little time in nature. The development of these new scales is an important step in implementing theory-based interventions that increase exposure to nature.
Interventions designed to increase time spent in nature at the population level must address a range of factors, including social, fiscal and physical barriers to access, experiences of discrimination and lack of safety and motivation.
Theory-based interventions help integrate complex concepts into a framework capable of interpreting and adapting to new information. Programs based on behavioral theories have worked well across a broad range of health behaviors. To develop evidence-based programs on the positive health impact of spending time in nature, valid and reliable measurement tools must first be developed.
To meet this need, in a paper published in Ecopsychology, Jay Maddock, PhD, and his colleagues developed a valid and reliable scale to quantify attitude toward time spent in nature. They confirmed the consistency and accuracy of the scales using a recruited sample of 2,019 adults from throughout the U.S. The scales were strongly related to intentions and time spent in nature with large effect sizes. A person’s intentions as well as their self-efficacy, which is their belief they can attain a goal, are strong predictors of positive health behaviors including physical activity. However, the scales needed to quantify the impact of these factors on spending time in nature had not been established.
A recent CHN study published in BMC Psychology, led by Jay Maddock, PhD, detailed the development and confirmation of the reliability and validity of these factors on time spent in nature.
The team used a sequential nine-step procedure to construct the scales. The scales were then tested in a survey administered to a nationwide sample of more than 2,000 adults. Overall, the study resulted in reliable and valid measures of self-efficacy and intentions to spend time in nature.
“We’re working on developing a whole suite of measures,” Maddock said. “Once those are completed, we’re going to be looking to develop theory-based interventions to increase time spent in nature.”
