Helping out on the land: Effects of children's role in agriculture on reported psychological restoration

The relationship between spending time in nature and obtaining restorative benefits seems to vary with several factors. This study assessed whether children who help out on their families' farm (n = 183) experience less restoration when spending free time in agricultural natural areas than those whose relationship with these same areas is merely recreational (n = 179). A multiple mediator regression model revealed that children who help out on the land report experiencing less restoration while spending free time in agricultural areas than those who only spend free time in them. In concordance with the spatial interdependence hypothesis, this effect is partly due to a lower sense of being away physically and psychologically. These findings show the importance of factors other than physical characteristics for children's restorative experiences.