Longitudinal effects of nature connectedness on interpersonal relationships and mental health in Chinese primary school children

Nature connectedness, a critical psychological construct reflecting individuals' emotional and cognitive bonds with the natural environment, has been linked to children's social and mental health. However, longitudinal research on its developmental trajectory and differential impacts remains scarce, particularly in non-Western contexts. This longitudinal study (N = 357 Chinese primary school children; 192 girls, T1 mean age = 10.44 ± 0.52 years old) employed latent growth modeling to examine how initial levels and growth rates of nature connectedness predict parent-child relationships, teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, and mental health over one year. The results indicated that after controlling for gender, age, and family socioeconomic status: (1) The development of nature connectedness in primary school children followed a linear upward trend, with individual differences in nature connectedness narrowing over time, exhibiting a compensatory pattern. (2) Both the initial levels and the growth rate of nature connectedness significantly and positively predicted parent-child relationships, teacher-student relationships, and mental health one year later, but not peer relationships. (3) The initial levels and growth rate of nature connectedness exerted cumulative effects on parent-child relationships and teacher-student relationships while influencing mental health through a stress-amplification model. The study advances theoretical frameworks on the benefits of nature contact theory, stress reduction theory, and attention restoration theory and suggests that targeted intervention programs should be implemented for children with varying initial levels and growth rates of nature connectedness to enhance their interpersonal relationships and mental health.