TY - JOUR
T1 - Urban green space and mental health among people living alone
T2 - The mediating roles of relational and collective restoration in an 18-country sample
AU - Pasanen, Tytti P.
AU - White, Mathew P.
AU - Elliott, Lewis R.
AU - van den Bosch, Matilda
AU - Bratman, Gregory N.
AU - Ojala, Ann
AU - Korpela, Kalevi
AU - Fleming, Lora E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Second, although we found that our operationalisations of relational and collective restoration resulted in two significant pathways operating in parallel, supporting the notion that the two processes may be connected but are not identical, we also recognise that these operationalisations were merely the best available proxies included in the BIS survey using two items from an existing well-being scale, the PWI (Cummins et al., 2003). We accept that satisfaction with one's close relationships is not equivalent to relational restoration, although it may in part arise from it. We would, therefore, encourage future studies to investigate and use items deliberatively developed to measure these constructs. For example, according to the theory, collective restoration is more likely to occur when whole communities are restoring from usual demands (Hartig et al., 2013) and ideally it would be measured at a community level (Hartig, 2021). More sophisticated testing of the theories in future will require further scale development and testing.This work was supported by the Sustainable Transformation of Urban Environments profiling area in Tampere University, funded by the Academy of Finland. Majority of the work was conducted during the lead author's research visit in University of Vienna in 2022, which was additionally supported by a travel grant from THL foundation. The Blue Health International Survey data collection was funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 666773). Data collection in specific countries/regions were supported by the Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University (California), the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia (Canada), the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) (Finland), Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), ISCTE—University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal), the Environmental Protection Agency, Ireland (Ireland), and internal University of Exeter—Chinese University of Hong Kong international collaboration fund (Hong Kong).
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Sustainable Transformation of Urban Environments profiling area in Tampere University, funded by the Academy of Finland . Majority of the work was conducted during the lead author's research visit in University of Vienna in 2022, which was additionally supported by a travel grant from THL foundation.
Funding Information:
The Blue Health International Survey data collection was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant Agreement No. 666773 ). Data collection in specific countries/regions were supported by the Center for Conservation Biology, Stanford University (California), the Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia (Canada), the Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE) (Finland), Griffith University and the University of the Sunshine Coast (Australia), ISCTE—University Institute of Lisbon (Portugal), the Environmental Protection Agency , Ireland (Ireland), and internal University of Exeter— Chinese University of Hong Kong international collaboration fund (Hong Kong).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2023/9/1
Y1 - 2023/9/1
N2 - Rates of living alone, especially in more urbanised areas, are increasing across many industrialised countries, with associated increases in feelings of loneliness and poorer mental health. Recent studies have suggested that access to nature (e.g. parks and green spaces) can reduce the stressors associated with loneliness, partly through providing opportunities to nurture personal relationships (relational restoration) and engage in normative community activities (collective restoration). Such associations might vary across different household compositions and socio-demographic or geographical characteristics, but these have not been thoroughly tested. Using data collected across 18 countries/territories in 2017–2018, we grouped urban respondents into those living alone (n = 2062) and those living with a partner (n = 6218). Using multigroup path modelling, we tested whether the associations between neighbourhood greenspace coverage (1-km-buffer from home) and mental health are sequentially mediated by: (a) visits to greenspace; and subsequently (b) relationship and/or community satisfaction, as operationalisations of relational and collective restoration, respectively. We also tested whether any indirect associations varied among subgroups of respondents living alone. Analyses showed that visiting green space was associated with greater mental well-being and marginally lower odds of using anxiety/depression medication use indirectly, mediated via both relationship and community satisfaction. These indirect associations were equally strong among respondents living alone and those living with a partner. Neighbourhood green space was, additionally, associated with more visits among respondents living with a partner, whereas among those living alone, this was sensitive to the green space metric. Within subgroups of people living alone, few overall differences were found. Some indirect pathways were, nevertheless, stronger in males, under 60-year-olds, those with no financial strain, and residents in warmer climates. In conclusion, supporting those living alone, as well as those living with a partner, to more frequently access their local greenspaces could help improve mental health via promoting relational and collective restoration.
AB - Rates of living alone, especially in more urbanised areas, are increasing across many industrialised countries, with associated increases in feelings of loneliness and poorer mental health. Recent studies have suggested that access to nature (e.g. parks and green spaces) can reduce the stressors associated with loneliness, partly through providing opportunities to nurture personal relationships (relational restoration) and engage in normative community activities (collective restoration). Such associations might vary across different household compositions and socio-demographic or geographical characteristics, but these have not been thoroughly tested. Using data collected across 18 countries/territories in 2017–2018, we grouped urban respondents into those living alone (n = 2062) and those living with a partner (n = 6218). Using multigroup path modelling, we tested whether the associations between neighbourhood greenspace coverage (1-km-buffer from home) and mental health are sequentially mediated by: (a) visits to greenspace; and subsequently (b) relationship and/or community satisfaction, as operationalisations of relational and collective restoration, respectively. We also tested whether any indirect associations varied among subgroups of respondents living alone. Analyses showed that visiting green space was associated with greater mental well-being and marginally lower odds of using anxiety/depression medication use indirectly, mediated via both relationship and community satisfaction. These indirect associations were equally strong among respondents living alone and those living with a partner. Neighbourhood green space was, additionally, associated with more visits among respondents living with a partner, whereas among those living alone, this was sensitive to the green space metric. Within subgroups of people living alone, few overall differences were found. Some indirect pathways were, nevertheless, stronger in males, under 60-year-olds, those with no financial strain, and residents in warmer climates. In conclusion, supporting those living alone, as well as those living with a partner, to more frequently access their local greenspaces could help improve mental health via promoting relational and collective restoration.
KW - Mental wellbeing
KW - Natural environment
KW - One-person household
KW - Restorative environment
KW - Social relationships
KW - Urban area
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85162130108&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116324
DO - 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116324
M3 - Article
C2 - 37311473
AN - SCOPUS:85162130108
SN - 0013-9351
VL - 232
JO - Environmental Research
JF - Environmental Research
M1 - 116324
ER -
