Children’s Mental Health and the Environment:Examining the role of activity patterns and environmental noise exposure.

Title	Children’s Mental Health and the Environment: Examining the role of activity patterns and environmental noise exposure.
Source	Hulsman-Dohmen, M. E. (2025).
Level of evidence	Direct/suggestive
Where	The Netherlands
Who	231 participants
What	Field study. Activity diary and GPS tracking for 7 days, supplemented with a survey (mental health, social environment, environmental perception/satisfaction) Limitations: Small sample sizes per age group with low representation, predominantly high Socio-economic status (SES)
Findings	Activity settings are active determinants of child development. Their influence on mental health and cognition arises from the interaction between environmental qualities, social relationships, and subjective perception. -       The home (the child’s own and that of others) and the neighbourhood remain important throughout childhood.  -       Activity diversity and autonomy increase with age, enhancing both opportunity and vulnerability.Younger children (0–7) spend most of their time in supervised, home-based activities. -       Older children and adolescents engage more in unsupervised neighbourhood and peer-based settings. This independence facilitates social competence and cognitive flexibility, yet introduces greater exposure to environmental stressors. -       Adolescents showed increases in sedentary indoor behaviour and reduced physical activity, these are factors linked to lower well-being. -       Time spent in the neighbourhood, time spent on social activities and time spent using media (screen time) are related to both mental health scales of social indicators. They may therefore be a source for health inequalities.
Recommendations	For researchers: -              Further investigate the mechanisms underlying the relationship between activity patterns, social and physical environments, and mental health. This should include a stronger focus on environmental perception, a broader range of social and physical environmental factors, and, where applicable, in-situ measurements. -              Expand the sample size to include a more diverse socioeconomic representation, conducting longitudinal studies and including multiple countries would enhance the validity, generalizability and applicability of findings. -              Additional research into the environmental effects on learned helplessness and its motivational components could deepen our understanding of both social and physical environmental influences. For policy makers: -              Urban planning and public health policies should prioritize accessible green spaces, play areas and community spaces, in order to facilitate physical activity and social interactions. -              It is important to create age-specific supportive environments that enhance mental health and well-being. Policies should be age-specific and context-sensitive — combining urban design, public health, and education — to promote environments that nurture safe autonomy and social connection. -              Different ages interact with their environment in different ways, and this should be taken into account when thinking about preventive measures. -              During middle childhood and adolescence, supportive environments enabling safe autonomy (e.g., accessible green spaces, community areas) are critical