Parental nature orientation and children’s interpersonal relationships and behavioral problems: The mediating role of children’s nature connectedness

Interpersonal relationships and behavioral problems are important aspects of children’s social development. This study investigated the relationships among parental nature orientation, children’s teacher–student relationships, peer relationships, and behavioral problems and examined the mediating role of children’s nature connectedness in these relationships through a longitudinal design. A sample of 398 children ( M age = 9.43 ± 0.87 years old) participated in this study. We acquired parental nature orientation and children’s nature connectedness data at the baseline survey (T1) and received information on children’s teacher–student relationships, peer relationships, and behavioral problems at T1 and at the10-month follow-up (T2). The mediation analyses were performed using bootstrapping. After controlling for children’s gender, age, grade, teacher–student relationships, peer relationships, and behavioral problems at T1, we found that parental nature orientation at T1 was positively related to children’s peer relationships at T2 and negatively correlated with children’s behavioral problems at T2. In addition, children’s nature connectedness at T1 fully mediated the relationship between parental nature orientation at T1 and children’s teacher–student relationships at T2. Our findings indicate that parents should maintain a positive nature orientation and focus on the guidance of children’s nature connectedness to improve children’s teacher–student relationships and peer relationships and reduce behavioral problems.