Outdoor play and time spent by school-aged children using digital technology

Abstract

Today’s children spend less and less time on free, unstructured play, especially outdoor play, due to their numerous commitments and lack of free time. Many interdisciplinary studies indicate that the lack of outdoor play and the quality of leisure time are closely linked to the negative effects of digital technology. The inappropriate and excessive frequency of digital technology use has a significant impact on the well-being, i.e. healthy growth, and development, of early school-age children. The study involved third to sixth grade students (N=155) from a primary school in the city of Rijeka (Croatia). Data was collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, factor and correlation analyses as well as the Kruskal-Wallis’s test and hierarchical multiregression analysis were conducted. The Attitudes Toward Outdoor Play Scale (ATOP scale), i.e. an adapted version of the scale, was used as the measuring instrument. The results of the study confirmed the reliability and validity of the instrument used. Two subscales of the ATOP scale named “Benefits” and “Fears” were identified with acceptable measurement properties and model fit indices. The results of the study show that time spent using digital technologies increases while time spent playing outdoors and assessments of the benefits of outdoor play decrease with children’s age and grade.

Keywords

• benefits
• education
• fears
• free time
• nature