A lower connection to nature is related to lower mental health benefits from nature contact

Increasing evidence demonstrates the psychological benefits of nature contact. However, the evidence is often established at the population level, and the individual differences in the psychological benefits gained from nature are considered negligible variations. In this study, we performed a cross...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2024-03, Vol.14 (1), p.6705-6705, Article 6705
Main Authors: Chang, Chia-chen, Lin, Brenda B., Feng, Xiaoqi, Andersson, Erik, Gardner, John, Astell-Burt, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
631/477
704/844
Anxiety
Anxiety - epidemiology
Biodiversity
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - prevention & control
Cross-Sectional Studies
Green infrastructure
Humanities and Social Sciences
Humans
Hypotheses
Mental depression
Mental Health
multidisciplinary
Pandemics
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Stress
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Summary:Increasing evidence demonstrates the psychological benefits of nature contact. However, the evidence is often established at the population level, and the individual differences in the psychological benefits gained from nature are considered negligible variations. In this study, we performed a cross-sectional online survey in Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, from April 15th and May 15th, 2021 around one year after the first covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. The results show that individuals with a stronger connection to nature are linked with a lower level of stress and anxiety with increased frequency in public greenspace visits, while such an association is less clear for individuals with a weaker connection to nature. We also find that, through the answer to an open-ended question, individuals with a lower connection to nature tend to mention nature-related words less as the reason for visiting greenspace. This indicates that a person’s connection to nature is linked with how they interact with nature and thus might determine whether and how much psychological benefit a person gains from experiencing nature.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-024-56968-5