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The Influence of Nature on a Child’s Development: Connecting the Outcomes of Human Attachment and Place Attachment

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Part of the book series: Springer International Handbooks of Education ((SIHE))

Abstract

Amidst a growing social movement to connect children to nature, little is understood about how children actually attach to place or the role of nature in shaping place attachments. While place attachment is an undertheorized concept, human attachment is well understood. In the chapter, an exploration of human attachment provides clarity of the potential outcomes of place attachment.

Both forms of attachment focus on the strength of the attachment of an individual to an external entity, a caregiver, or a place in the physical environment. The secure base function of secure human attachment mirrors the home range function of place attachment. In both concepts, children venture away from the object of attachment only to return in times of stress. Secure human attachments also foster the development of an internal working model in which a child mentally organizes behavior to solicit a desired response. The strength of the model predicts the quality of future relationships. Currently no research links the development of an internal working model to place attachment. Secure human attachments also foster resilience in that children are better able to respond to and cope with stress. Secure place attachments are linked to the presence of nature, social bonding, and emotional and cognitive processes. This is consistent with emergent resilience research with children which suggests that nature can play an important role in fostering resilience. Nature thus may be a defining feature of place attachments that help build resilience.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA

    Sarah Little

  2. Environmental Studies, California State University Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA, USA

    Victoria Derr

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  1. Sarah Little
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  2. Victoria Derr
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Correspondence to Sarah Little .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Sustainability Environment and the Arts in Education (SEAE) Research Cluster, Southern Cross University, Gold Coast Campus, Coolangatta, QLD, Australia

    Amy Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles

  2. Department of Education, Faculty of Health, Arts and Design, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Karen Malone

  3. Department of Education, University of Bath, Bath, UK

    Elisabeth Barratt Hacking

Section Editor information

  1. Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia

    Karen Malone

  2. Faculty of Education, Peninsula Campus, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Iris Duhn

  3. University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    Marek Tesar

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Little, S., Derr, V. (2020). The Influence of Nature on a Child’s Development: Connecting the Outcomes of Human Attachment and Place Attachment. In: Cutter-Mackenzie-Knowles, A., Malone, K., Barratt Hacking, E. (eds) Research Handbook on Childhoodnature . Springer International Handbooks of Education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67286-1_10

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