Over the last few decades, children have spent significantly less time actively engaged in nature-based outdoor activities compared to previous generations. This has corresponded with them increasingly suffering from a range of psychological problems. Studies have been undertaken to explore the notion that such problems can be mitigated to some extent through exposure to nature within the context of built environmental settings. While much of the literature in this area has focused on adult populations, this article provides a comprehensive review of recent studies addressing this topic targeting children aged 6–12 years old. From an initial search of the literature, a total of 1036 records were identified from which 40 studies addressing this topic were identified and analyzed. Our results show that most of these studies employed cross-sectional rather than longitudinal designs, and most identified positive psychological outcomes associated with children’s exposure to nature, with many yielding statistically significant yet weak to moderate outcomes. We further categorized studies into experimental or observational according to the research design. Observational studies primarily investigated the impact of the accessibility/quantity of natural environments within residential settings. Some experimental-based studies explored children’s active involvement in nature-based activities. In contrast, others investigated passive exposure to nature through views or visual stimuli used as surrogates of actual environments, many of which were conducted in school and public open-space settings. Most of the studies explored terrestrial, or green spaces, within the context of predominately built environments, with water-based settings (blue spaces) being underrepresented. Some differences in research focus and design were evident across different countries where the studies were undertaken. We conclude that further research is needed to unveil the associations between nature exposure and children’s psychological well-being to provide directions for future environmental design strategies, environmental education and policymaking.

在过去的几十年里，与前几代人相比，儿童积极参与以自然为基础的户外活动的时间要少得多。这与他们越来越多地遭受一系列心理问题相对应。已经进行了研究，以探索通过在建筑环境环境中接触自然可以在一定程度上缓解此类问题的概念。虽然该领域的许多文献都关注成年人口，但本文对最近针对 6-12 岁儿童的这一主题的研究进行了全面回顾。通过对文献的初步搜索，总共确定了 1036 条记录，从中确定并分析了 40 项涉及该主题的研究。我们的结果表明，这些研究中的大多数采用横断面而非纵向设计，并且大多数确定了与儿童接触自然相关的积极心理结果，其中许多产生了具有统计学意义但弱到中等的结果。我们根据研究设计进一步将研究分为实验性或观察性研究。观察性研究主要调查住宅环境中自然环境的可达性/数量的影响。一些基于实验的研究探讨了儿童积极参与自然活动的情况。相比之下，其他人通过用作实际环境替代物的视图或视觉刺激来调查被动暴露于自然的情况，其中许多是在学校和公共开放空间环境中进行的。大多数研究都在主要建筑环境的背景下探索了陆地或绿色空间，而水基环境（蓝色空间）的代表性不足。在进行研究的不同国家/地区，研究重点和设计存在明显差异。我们的结论是，需要进一步的研究来揭示自然暴露与儿童心理健康之间的关联，从而为未来的环境设计策略、环境教育和政策制定提供方向。