Greenspace and adolescent internalizing and externalizing problems: Limited associations in the ABCD cohort

The availability of neighborhood greenspace has been associated with many positive health outcomes across the lifespan. However, evidence has been mixed during adolescence. This study examined associations between greenspace and internalizing and externalizing problems among adolescents ages 9-14 in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) cohort. We tested whether associations were present or stronger at certain ages, for certain genders, or for certain indices of greenspace using a split-half approach. Analyses in the exploratory sample (N = 2,932) indicated few associations between greenspace and adolescent mental health. Preregistered analyses in the confirmatory sample (N = 3,264) replicated these largely null results. However, the proportion of park land in 13-year-old girls’ census tracts was associated with lower internalizing problems in both samples. Our findings point to the need to more precisely consider access to and interaction with greenspace, as well as other neighborhood factors affecting youth mental health.