| 1. |
- K Stigsdotter, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
-
Forest design for mental health promotion—Using perceived sensory dimensions to elicit restorative responses
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Landscape and Urban Planning. - : Elsevier BV. - 0169-2046 .- 1872-6062. ; 160, s. 1-15
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- At present, research within health promoting environments is dominated by a focus on the difference between the urban and the natural environment. However, little knowledge exists regarding which qualities within the natural environment promote restoration.The aim of the paper is to identify which qualities and perceived sensory dimensions (PSD) of a forest environment are psychologically restorative.The research consists of 26 participants' ratings and experiences of psychological restoration in a forest environment called the Health Forest Octovia (R), which consists of eight different morns designed according to previous research on PSDs, where each room represents one of the PSDs. The participants rated the restorativeness of the rooms on a scale and they were interviewed about their experiences. The interviews were analyzed by an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).The results from the rating exercise show that the rooms where the PSDs serene, rich in species, refuge and nature are dominant are rated highest with regards to restoration, which supports the previous research on the subject. Further, the findings from the IPA indicate that the spatial aspects are important for the experience of restoration. An environment which includes diverse vegetation and balances enclosed dense growth with more open views is regarded as being optimal for restoration. The dense growth should have the appearance of a den and offer experiences of privacy.The results validate the potential for using the PSDs as guidelines for designing health-promoting natural environments. (C) 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.
|
|
| 2. |
- K Stigsdotter, Ulrika, et al.
(författare)
-
It is not all bad for the grey city – A crossover study on physiological and psychological restoration in a forest and an urban environment
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Health and Place. - : Elsevier BV. - 1353-8292 .- 1873-2054. ; 46, s. 145-154
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Today, urbanization presents a challenge to urban planning with regard to creating healthy living environments. The aim of this research is to gain further knowledge of the restorativeness of a best case urban and natural environment: that is a historic down town urban environment and forest environment located in an arboretum. The study has a cross-over design where 51 (N) female university students are exposed to the two environments through both seated viewing and walking. A mixed method approach is used with both physiological measurements of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate variability (HRV) and psychological measurements of mood change and perceived restorativeness. The HRV results show no significant differences between the two environments, and both environments are found to be more physiologically restorative than being at the office or on the minibus. The results of the psychological measures indicate that the forest walk has a positive effect on mood, while the walk in the urban environment has no effect. The forest environment is also rated more highly with regard to perceived restorativeness than the urban environment. The results support the current research that shows natural environments as more restorative than urban environments. The study also adds to the ongoing debate on healthy urban planning by indicating that architectural and historical qualities may be associated with the physiological well-being of citizens.
|
|
| 3. |
- Korpela, Kalevi M., et al.
(författare)
-
Environmental Strategies of Affect Regulation and Their Associations With Subjective Well-Being
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Frontiers in Psychology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-1078. ; 9
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Environmental strategies of affect regulation refer to the use of natural and urban socio-physical settings in the service of regulation. We investigated the perceived use and efficacy of environmental strategies for regulation of general affect and sadness, considering them in relation to other affect regulation strategies and to subjective well-being. Participants from Australia, Finland, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, India, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Sweden (N = 507) evaluated the frequency of use and perceived efficacy of affect regulation strategies using a modified version of the Measure of Affect Regulation Styles (MARS). The internet survey also included the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), emotional well-being items from the RAND 36-Item Health Survey, and a single-item measure of perceived general health. Environmental regulation formed a separate factor of affect regulation in the exploratory structural equation models (ESEM). Although no relations of environmental strategies with emotional well-being were found, both the perceived frequency of use and efficacy of environmental strategies were positively related to perceived health. Moreover, the perceived efficacy of environmental strategies was positively related to life satisfaction in regulating sadness. The results encourage more explicit treatment of environmental strategies in research on affect regulation.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
