14 | Play for Wales | Winter 2021
with children in Wales
Being able to go outside and play has been shown to have health benefits, including improvements in mood and self-esteem. The Outdoor Access, Mental Health and Wellbeing study looked at experiences of children aged 8 to 11 during the first COVID-19 UK national lockdown (April to June 2020) and the impact this had on their mental health and wellbeing. Being confined to their homes, school closures and having limited contact with close friends and family caused disruption and uncertainty – causing feelings of worry and anxiety in some children. The research was carried out by Mustafa Rasheed, Professor Sinead Brophy and Dr Michaela James, child health researchers at Swansea University. Mustafa tells us more about the research and what they found out. The findings of our study show that children with increased emotional and behavioural difficulties were less likely to feel safe in their local area and spent less time playing and being active. The survey data was collected through the HAPPEN (Health and Attainment of Pupils in a Primary Education Network) project.
HAPPEN and Me and My Feelings HAPPEN is a network of primary schools in Wales that was developed by Swansea University to facilitate the cooperation of departments of health and education.
The aim is to improve wellbeing and educational outcomes of young people in Wales. Through HAPPEN, 1104 children included in this study responded to a survey which included the Me and My Feelings questionnaire. This is a 16-item schoolbased measure of child mental health that assesses symptoms of emotional and behavioural difficulties in children. The HAPPEN survey also included further questions about the general experience of respondents and their perception of their own health.
Local area Our findings show that children living in areas with larger private gardens presented a greater degree of emotional and behavioural difficulty. Additionally, those who lived closer to local parks and outdoor play areas also showed more symptoms of emotional and behavioural difficulty during lockdown. It could be that children in these areas may have previously played in these nearby parks but felt they were unable to as these spaces were not open at the time of this survey.
