Nature contact, exposure, connection and prosocial behaviour in Chinese primary school children: A latent profile and cross‐lagged panel analysis

Abstract

Prosocial behaviour is an important indicator of children's social development and well‐being. Although nature‐related factors have been associated with prosocial behaviour, evidence from childhood remains more limited and it is unclear whether these associations vary across patterns of nature interaction. This study examined cross‐sectional and longitudinal associations among nature contact, exposure, connection and prosocial behaviour in primary school children. Study 1 used latent profile and network analyses with 579 children (280 girls, M _age  = 10.43, SD  = 1.59). Profile‐specific associations emerged: in the lower overall nature‐interaction profile, prosocial behaviour was most strongly linked to nature connection, whereas it was most closely associated with nature contact in the higher overall nature‐interaction profile. Study 2 employed cross‐lagged panel network and mediation analyses with 450 children (219 girls, M _age  = 10.53, SD  = 0.74 at T1). Nature exposure predicted subsequent prosocial behaviour in the lower profile, whereas in the higher profile, nature contact was indirectly associated with subsequent prosocial behaviour through nature connection assessed at the same wave. These findings suggest that the associations between nature‐related dimensions and prosocial behaviour may vary across children's broader patterns of nature interaction, supporting the value of a person‐centred perspective in understanding their relevance to social development.