A Neighborhood Study: Recreational Parks and Parent Stress
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Date
2015-05
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The Ohio State University
Abstract
Parental stress can impede a parent's ability to care for their children and is associated with many social problems. Neighborhoods may have a profound influence on parenting, but the current literature has focused almostexclusively onnegative aspects of communities and their relation to parenting concerns, such as neighborhood rates of poverty. The current study seeks to investigate a potentialprotective factor within communities, namely access to public parks. Specifically, the research question examined was: does proximity to recreational parks reduce parenting stress? Surveys were administered to 1,326 parents of young children in six Women, Infants and Children clinics and four childcare centers in Franklin County, Ohio. Using a linear ordinary least squares regression, results indicated a significant association between proximity to recreational parks and parenting stress. Specifically, living within 0.25 miles of a park was associated with lower levels of parenting stress. The practice implications of this work suggest the importance of collaborations between social workers and urban and community developers to consider how neighborhood structures can affect social outcomes such as decreased stress of parents in the area.
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Keywords
parks, parent stress, neighborhoods, children