The Trends and Influential Factors of Children's Use of Outdoor Environments: A Review

Abstract

In the past two decades, there has been a raft of research on children's behaviour and their interaction with the outdoor environment. The aim of this paper is to present a synthesis of 30 studies from 1985 to 2010 on children's use of outdoor environments. The aspects taken into consideration include methodological issues and factors that influence the use of outdoor environments. The trends of the studies are discussed. In summary, the children's place preferences and play behaviours in outdoor environments are influenced by their developmental needs, and individual, physical and social factors.