Psychology, Sociology and Education
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/14
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Item From risky play to dirty play: Why young children need ‘dirty’ nature play in their lives(Taylor & Francis, 2025) Barrable, Alexia; Robinson, Jake M.Risky play, which describes exciting forms of free play that involve some uncertainty of outcome and a possibility of physical injury, is increasingly recognised as vital to children’s physical, emotional, and cognitive development. However, an equally important but often overlooked form of engagement is “dirty play”: the unstructured, tactile interaction with soil, mud, plants and the microbial life that inhabits them. This article explores the developmental, immunological and ecological value of such interactions, which are frequently dismissed or sanitised due to modern hygiene norms and societal perceptions of ‘dirt’ as dangerous or undesirable. We synthesise evidence from microbiome science, environmental psychology and early childhood education to argue that microbially rich natural environments play a crucial role in shaping healthy immune systems, preventing inflammatory and allergic diseases, and nurturing curiosity, sensory development and nature connectedness. Integrating ‘dirty play’ into early childhood settings supports children's health and could cultivate ecological empathy, encouraging deeper, lifelong relationships with the natural world.Item Forest School in the early years(Routledge, 2025-08-08) Friedman, Samantha; Barrable, AlexiaRecent years have seen a rise in the popularity of Forest Schools as both a complement and alternative to traditional schooling and an activity for children as young as several months old. Participation in Forest School has been associated with positive outcomes, including educational, social, and physical development. More recent research suggests that Forest Schools could also be an empowering space for autistic children. Questions persist around how practitioners and researchers define and implement Forest School, the theoretical basis (or lack thereof), and the implications of adopting this practice from another culture. This chapter will critically discuss the various approaches practitioners take to adopting the Forest School ethos, the elements of Forest School which might make it effective for providing pre-school children novel opportunities for autonomy, and the larger questions that remain as Forest School continues to become a more accessible option for young children.Item Priority research questions in microbiome-integrated urban design(American Society for Microbiology, 2025-10-14) Robinson, Jake; Beckett, Richard; Archer, Lorraine; Barrable, Alexia; Bogdan-Margineanu, Michael; Bradley, Sean; Hawes, Sarah; Herr, Christiane; Housen, Mira; Lacatusu, Alexandra; Laitinen, Olli; Roslund, Marja; Rumble, Heather; Scott, William; Sinkkonen, Aki; Xin, SunUrbanization is accelerating at an unprecedented pace, with 70% of the global population projected to live in cities by 2050. This shift presents significant challenges and opportunities for fostering sustainable urban ecosystems aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Microbiomes—the diverse communities of microorganisms that underpin ecosystem function—are increasingly recognized for their vital role in nutrient cycling, climate regulation, biodiversity support, and human well-being. However, their consideration and integration in urban design remain underexplored, often limited to disease mitigation. The emerging field of microbiome-integrated urban design seeks to leverage microbial activity to enhance urban health and resilience through a multispecies framework. To address critical gaps, the Probiotic Cities Working Group convened a global interdisciplinary workshop, engaging experts from ecology, architecture, urban planning, immunology, and social sciences. Using reverse brainstorming and thematic analysis, participants identified eight core themes and 40 priority research questions (via a modified Delphi technique). These themes span communication and policy, pollution prevention, interdisciplinary collaboration, experimental design, ethics, and public perception of microbiomes. A binomial concordance analysis revealed strong consensus on the top-ranked questions, which address urgent needs such as improving science communication, defining success metrics, and promoting evidence-based microbiome interventions. This paper discusses the top-ranked priority research questions and their broader implications for microbiome science, urban health, and sustainable development. By focusing on these priorities, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners can foster a transformative agenda to integrate microbiomes into urban design, advancing resilient and equitable cities for the future.Item Biophobia and Pet Ownership: Can Having a Pet Mitigate Our Fear and Aversion Towards Nature?(Cal Poly Humboldt, 2025) Longson, Hannah; Barrable, AlexiaBiophobia, which we defined as fear, disgust, or aversion toward natural environments or organisms, has received little empirical attention when compared to biophilia, despite its implications for human and planetary wellbeing. This mixed-methods study explores the relationship between pet ownership, biophobia, and nature connectedness among 373 Englishspeaking adults. Quantitative findings reveal that pet owners exhibit significantly lower levels of biophobia than non-pet owners, although no significant differences were found when we look at nature connectedness. A small but significant negative correlation was observed between biophobia and nature connectedness. Qualitative analysis further highlights that pet owners tend to report fear and aversion related mostly around human threats and damage when natural settings, while non-pet owners more frequently express aversion toward natural stimuli such as insects, mud, and wild animals. These findings support the “pets as ambassadors” hypothesis and suggest that pet ownership may serve as a factor mitigating biophobia. However, the absence of a corresponding increase in nature connectedness underscores the need for targeted interventions to foster deeper ecological relationships. Implications for future research and practical applications in education and conservation are discussed.Item A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of virtual reality nature effects onhigher education students' mental health andwellbeing(Wiley, 2025-09-04) Hubbard, Gill; Verde, Philip Albert; Barrable, Alexia; O'Malley, Chris; Barnes, Nicholas; Toner, PaulVirtual Reality nature (VRn) may deliver mental health and wellbeing without being outside in real nature. The main objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to report effects of VRn on mental health and wellbeing of students in higher education. To be eligible, participants were higher education students, the intervention was VRn, the outcome variable was a mental health parameter, and the study design was experimental. Information sources were: OVID (Embase, MEDLINE, PsycINFO), SCOPUS, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed and GreenFILE. Searches were conducted May 2023 and re-run November 2024. The modified Downs and Black checklist for randomised and non-randomised studies was used to assess risk of bias. To synthesise results, data were first extracted into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and summarised in narrative, statistical and tabular formats. Twenty-four articles were included. Two studies were ‘good’ quality, 18 ‘fair’, and four ‘poor’. Total sample size was 1,419. Two studies compared VRn versus real nature, six VRn versus no intervention, seven VRn versus flat-screen. Twelve studies included forests as the only natural environment. Thirteen of 17, seven of eight, four of five, and four of seven studies reported pre-post intervention beneficial effects on self-reported mood, anxiety, stress and cognition, respectively. Nine of 13, six of 10 and all five studies that measured cardiovascular, skin conductivity and brain activity respectively, reported pre-post intervention beneficial effects. All five studies that measured anxiety, all three studies that measured mood, and all four studies that measured stress, found no significant differences between VRn and flat-screen images of nature. Caution is required drawing conclusions due to studies' quality and sample sizes. That said, the review suggests that nature replicated in VR shows promise for benefits to mental health and wellbeing in higher education students.Item Nature Connectedness as a Risk Factor for Psychological Distress After Environmental Disasters: Insights from the 2024 Attica Wildfires(Mary Ann Liebert, 2025-06-09) Barrable, Alexia; Lugosi-Grant, Zsuzsa; Stacey, Anna; Touloumakos, AnnaNature connectedness, the construct that describes how close we feel to the rest of the natural world, has been studied extensively in the past decade. There have been well-evidenced prior studies showing a positive correlation between nature connectedness and wellbeing in both children and adults, as well as sustainable attitudes and behaviour towards the environment. What has not been studied as well to date is the potential for nature connectedness to contribute to levels of distress and other negative emotions in the presence of the climate crisis and environmental disasters. This study analysed results from a sample of Greek speaking adults, collected in the 14 days after the 2024 Attica wildfires. We examined the relationship between respondents’ experience of the event, and the associations between respondents’ nature connectedness and resultant psychological distress. We found that higher nature connectedness was associated with higher psychological distress in people who had experienced forest fires. We believe that future research on nature connectedness needs to take into account the potential for psychological distress in the face of ongoing environmental disasters and the climate crisis.Item Nature attachment theory: Exploring the human-nature bond through an attachment theory lens(North American Association for Environmental Education, 2025-03-25) Barrable, AlexiaSeveral concepts exist to explain the human-nature relationship, including nature connection. This paper offers a reconceptualisation of the human-nature bond, based on the infant-parent bond and attachment theory. As such, this paper draws upon research on attachment theory and environmental psychology to draw parallels between the two. Initially it looks at features of attachment theory, such as the critical period, the meeting of needs, proximity seeking, as well as disruption of attachment and explores the human-nature relationship literature for clues as to correspondence. Moreover, it presents practical implications of conceptualising the human-nature relationship as one of attachment, the importance of socialising agents in the building of this attachment and the detrimental effect of disruptions in the human-nature attachment process.Item Nature connection and wellbeing in children and adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis(Psych-Open, 2024) Barrable, Alexia; Friedman, Samantha; Tam, Kim-Pong; Papadatou-Pastou, MariettaNature connection (also referred to as nature connectedness, connectedness to nature connection to nature, or nature relatedness) describes a positive relationship between humans and the natural world, with various benefits for both nature and humans. The latter include a small but robust positive correlation of nature connection with various types of wellbeing and flourishing. However, this correlation has been investigated meta-analytically in adults only; no meta-analysis to-date has investigated the relationship between nature connection and wellbeing in children and adolescents. This is the aim of the present study. We undertook searches through four databases (Google Scholar, ERIC, PsycInfo and Scopus). The criteria were (i) the mean age of participants is below 18, with no restrictions on sex or ethnicity and that they were drawn from the general population; (ii) that there were at least one explicit, non-dichotomised measure for nature connection and one for wellbeing and (iii) that there were adequate data reported so that we could record or compute the correlation coefficient between the main variables. Our systematic review identified twelve studies (k = 12) that fulfilled the criteria and could be included in the meta-analysis. The total sample (n = 30,075) included children and adolescents aged four to 18. An overall moderate significant effect was found (r = .31, 95% CI = .22-.41) for the relationship between nature connection and wellbeing in children and adolescents, which is comparable but slightly higher than the effect found in previous meta-analyses focused on adults.Item Developing a Connection to Nature: The Role of Pet Ownership in Childhood(International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations, 2024-07-10) Barrable, Alexia; Friedman, SamanthaItem Nature connection in adulthood: The role of childhood nature experiences(Wiley Open Access, 2024-05-24) Barrable, Alexia; Friedman, Samantha; Beloyianni, Vassiliki1) Context: Nature connection describes our relationship with the rest of the natural world. Promoting nature connection in children and adults has been identified as a worthwhile focus for education and public health, given the positive associations between nature connection, wellbeing and pro-environmental behaviours. Prior research has looked at activities that promote an individual’s connection to nature, reporting that a variety of interventions can be effective. Particular emphasis has been placed on positive childhood nature experiences due to their effects on adult nature connection. Research from varied places such as New Zealand, Australia, the USA and Brazil suggest that an individual’s childhood nature experiences can play a positive role on their adult connection to nature. 2) Approach: This paper is the first of its kind to explore the associations between childhood nature activities, both their type and frequency, and adult nature connection in a Greek sample (n=401). We gathered the perspectives of Greek-speaking adults using quantitative measures in an online survey. 3) Results: Our results suggest that, in line with previous research, childhood nature experiences were significantly and positively correlated with adult nature connectedness. However, contrary to previous research, analysis suggested that adult nature experiences did not mediate the relationship between childhood nature experience and adult nature connection. Age was positively correlated with less structured childhood nature experiences such that older adults were more likely to have participated in unstructured outdoor activities like flower picking and general alone time outside during childhood. 4) Synthesis and applications: Capturing retrospective self-reports on the frequency and type of childhood nature experiences in this Greek sample helps us understand how these experiences may predict engagement and relationships with nature in adulthood. In turn, these findings inform context-specific recommendations for encouraging nature contact in childhood. For instance, this may have implications for nature-based learning in Greece, as well as the provision of urban green and blue spaces.