| 1. |
- Browning, Matthew H. E. M., et al.
(författare)
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An Actual Natural Setting Improves Mood Better Than Its Virtual Counterpart : A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Data
- 2020
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 11
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Accumulating evidence indicates that simulated natural settings can engage mechanisms that promote health. Simulations offer alternatives to actual natural settings for populations unable to travel outdoors safely; however, few studies have contrasted the effects of simulations of natural settings to their actual outdoor counterparts. We compared the impacts of simulated and actual natural settings on positive and negative affect (mood) levels using a pooled sample of participants enrolled in extant experimental studies. Relevant articles were identified from a review of research published/in press by March 2020 and updated during the peer review of the current study. Of 16 articles identified, 6 met the inclusion criteria and administered a single cross-cutting, standardized instrument [the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)] before and after exposure. Random effects meta-analysis of pooled effects showed that positive affect increased in the actual settings but not in their simulated counterparts (Hedge'sg= 0.87; 95% CI, 0.54, 1.20). We observed little difference in effects on negative affect change scores (g= -0.28; 95% CI, -0.62, 0.06), with studies generally showing reductions in negative affect in both settings. Further research with additional populations, settings, antecedent conditions, and durations would provide a more robust understanding of differences in effects between these two ways to enhance mood by viewing nature.
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| 2. |
- Dzhambov, Angel M., et al.
(författare)
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Analytical approaches to testing pathways linking greenspace to health : A scoping review of the empirical literature
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 186
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Inadequate translation from theoretical to statistical models of the greenspace - health relationship may lead to incorrect conclusions about the importance of some pathways, which in turn may reduce the effectiveness of public health interventions involving urban greening. In this scoping review we aimed to: (1) summarize the general characteristics of approaches to intervening variable inference (mediation analysis) employed in epidemiological research in the field; (2) identify potential threats to the validity of findings; and (3) propose recommendations for planning, conducting, and reporting mediation analyses.Methods: We conducted a scoping review, searching PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for peer-reviewed epidemiological studies published by December 31, 2019. The list of potential studies was continuously updated through other sources until March 2020. Narrative presentation of the results was coupled with descriptive summary of study characteristics.Results: We found 106 studies, most of which were cross-sectional in design. Most studies only had a spatial measure of greenspace. Mental health/well-being was the most commonly studied outcome, and physical activity and air pollution were the most commonly tested intervening variables. Most studies only conducted single mediation analysis, even when multiple potentially intertwined mediators were measured. The analytical approaches used were causal steps, difference-of-coefficients, product-of-coefficients, counterfactual framework, and structural equation modelling (SEM). Bootstrapping was the most commonly used method to construct the 95% CI of the indirect effect. The product-of-coefficients method and SEM as used to investigate serial mediation components were more likely to yield findings of indirect effect. In some cases, the causal steps approach thwarted tests of indirect effect, even though both links in an indirect effect were supported. In most studies, sensitivity analyses and proper methodological discussion of the modelling approach were missing.Conclusions: We found a persistent pattern of suboptimal conduct and reporting of mediation analysis in epidemiological studies investigating pathways linking greenspace to health; however, recent years have seen improvements in these respects. Better planning, conduct, and reporting of mediation analyses are warranted.
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| 3. |
- Dzhambov, Angel M., et al.
(författare)
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Multiple pathways link urban green- and bluespace to mental health in young adults
- 2018
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 166, s. 223-233
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: A growing body of scientific literature indicates that urban green- and bluespace support mental health; however, little research has attempted to address the complexities in likely interrelations among the pathways through which benefits plausibly are realized. Objectives: The present study examines how different plausible pathways between green/bluespace and mental health can work together. Both objective and perceived measures of green- and bluespace are used in these models. Methods: We sampled 720 students from the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Residential greenspace was measured in terms of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), tree cover density, percentage of green areas, and Euclidean distance to the nearest green space. Bluespace was measured in terms of its presence in the neighborhood and the Euclidean distance to the nearest bluespace. Mental health was measured with the 12-item form of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The following mediators were considered: perceived neighborhood green/bluespace, restorative quality of the neighborhood, social cohesion, physical activity, noise and air pollution, and environmental annoyance. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to analyze the data. Results: Higher NDVI within a 300 m buffer around the residence was associated with better mental health through higher perceived greenspace; through higher perceived greenspace, leading to increased restorative quality, and subsequently to increased physical activity (i.e., serial mediation); through lower noise exposure, which in turn was associated with lower annoyance; and through higher perceived greenspace, which was associated with lower annoyance. Presence of bluespace within a 300 m buffer did not have a straightforward association with mental health owing to competitive indirect paths: one supporting mental health through higher perceived bluespace, restorative quality, and physical activity; and another engendering mental ill-health through higher noise exposure and annoyance. Conclusions: We found evidence that having more greenspace near the residence supported mental health through several indirect pathways with serial components. Conversely, bluespace was not clearly associated with mental health.
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| 4. |
- Dzhambov, Angel M., et al.
(författare)
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Residential greenspace is associated with mental health via intertwined capacity-building and capacity-restoring pathways
- 2019
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 178
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Experiences afforded by natural settings promote health by helping people to build new adaptive capacities and to restore existing capacities. The aim of this study was to examine relations among restorative experience, mindfulness, rumination and psychological resilience in pathways linking residential greenspace to anxiety and depression symptoms.Methods: We sampled 529 university students residing in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Residential greenspace was measured in terms of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and tree cover density for different buffer sizes. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were measured with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale (7-item) and Patient Health Questionnaire (9-item), respectively. The following mediators were assessed by self-report: perceived greenspace, restorative quality of the neighborhood, dispositional mindfulness, rumination, and psychological resilience. Structural equation modelling techniques were used to test the theoretically-indicated relations among the variables.Results: Across different buffer sizes, higher greenspace was consistently associated with reduced scores on the anxiety and depression scales. This effect was partially mediated via several pathways. Specifically, higher NDVI500-m was associated with higher perceived greenspace, and in turn, with higher restorative quality, and then with higher mindfulness, lower rumination, and greater resilience to stress, and consequently, with better mental health.Conclusions: Our findings affirm the potential of greenspace for building psychological resilience and promoting health by offsetting dysfunctional rumination and facilitating mindfulness as components of intertwined capacity-building and capacity-restoring pathways.
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| 5. |
- Markevych, Iana, et al.
(författare)
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Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health : theoretical and methodological guidance
- 2017
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Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 158, s. 301-317
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: In a rapidly urbanizing world, many people have little contact with natural environments, which may affect health and well-being. Existing reviews generally conclude that residential greenspace is beneficial to health. However, the processes generating these benefits and how they can be best promoted remain unclear.Objectives: During an Expert Workshop held in September 2016, the evidence linking greenspace and health was reviewed from a transdisciplinary standpoint, with a particular focus on potential underlying biopsychosocial pathways and how these can be explored and organized to support policy-relevant population health research.Discussions: Potential pathways linking greenspace to health are here presented in three domains, which emphasize three general functions of greenspace: reducing harm (e.g. reducing exposure to air pollution, noise and heat), restoring capacities (e.g. attention restoration and physiological stress recovery) and building capacities (e.g. encouraging physical activity and facilitating social cohesion). Interrelations between among the three domains are also noted. Among several recommendations, future studies should: use greenspace and behavioural measures that are relevant to hypothesized pathways; include assessment of presence, access and use of greenspace; use longitudinal, interventional and (quasi)experimental study designs to assess causation; and include low and middle income countries given their absence in the existing literature. Cultural, climatic, geographic and other contextual factors also need further consideration.Conclusions: While the existing evidence affirms beneficial impacts of greenspace on health, much remains to be learned about the specific pathways and functional form of such relationships, and how these may vary by context, population groups and health outcomes. This Report provides guidance for further epidemiological research with the goal of creating new evidence upon which to develop policy recommendations.
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| 6. |
- White, Mathew P., et al.
(författare)
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Nature-based biopsychosocial resilience : An integrative theoretical framework for research on nature and health
- 2023
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Ingår i: Environment International. - : Elsevier. - 0160-4120 .- 1873-6750. ; 181
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Nature-based solutions including urban forests and wetlands can help communities cope better with climate change and other environmental stressors by enhancing social-ecological resilience. Natural ecosystems, settings, elements and affordances can also help individuals become more personally resilient to a variety of stressors, although the mechanisms underpinning individual-level nature-based resilience, and their relations to social-ecological resilience, are not well articulated. We propose ‘nature-based biopsychosocial resilience theory’ (NBRT) to address these gaps. Our framework begins by suggesting that individual-level resilience can refer to both: a) a person’s set of adaptive resources; and b) the processes by which these resources are deployed. Drawing on existing nature-health perspectives, we argue that nature contact can support individuals build and maintain biological, psychological, and social (i.e. biopsychosocial) resilience-related resources. Together with nature-based social-ecological resilience, these biopsychosocial resilience resources can: i) reduce the risk of various stressors (preventive resilience); ii) enhance adaptive reactions to stressful circumstances (response resilience), and/or iii) facilitate more rapid and/or complete recovery from stress (recovery resilience). Reference to these three resilience processes supports integration across more familiar pathways involving harm reduction, capacity building, and restoration. Evidence in support of the theory, potential interventions to promote nature-based biopsychosocial resilience, and issues that require further consideration are discussed.
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