| 1. |
- Dzhambov, Angel M., et al.
(författare)
-
Multiple pathways link urban green- and bluespace to mental health in young adults
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 166, s. 223-233
-
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.
|
|
| 2. |
- Dzhambov, Angel M., et al.
(författare)
-
Residential greenspace is associated with mental health via intertwined capacity-building and capacity-restoring pathways
- 2019
-
Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 178
-
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.
|
|
| 3. |
- Dzhambov, Angel, et al.
(författare)
-
Urban residential greenspace and mental health in youth : Different approaches to testing multiple pathways yield different conclusions
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 160, s. 47-59
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Urban greenspace can benefit mental health through multiple mechanisms. They may work together, but previous studies have treated them as independent.Objectives: We aimed to compare single and parallel mediation models, which estimate the independent contributions of different paths, to several models that posit serial mediation components in the pathway from greenspace to mental health.Methods: We collected cross-sectional survey data from 399 participants (15-25 years of age) in the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Objective "exposure" to urban residential greenspace was defined by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index, tree cover density within the 500-m buffer, and Euclidean distance to the nearest urban greenspace. Self-reported measures of availability, access, quality, and usage of greenspace were also used. Mental health was measured with the General Health Questionnaire. The following potential mediators were considered in single and parallel mediation models: restorative quality of the neighborhood, neighborhood social cohesion, commuting and leisure time physical activity, road traffic noise annoyance, and perceived air pollution. Four models were tested with the following serial mediation components: (1) restorative quality -> social cohesion; (2) restorative quality -> physical activity; (3) perceived traffic pollution -> restorative quality; (4) and noise annoyance -> physical activity.Results: There was no direct association between objectively-measured greenspace and mental health. For the 500-m buffer, the tests of the single mediator models suggested that restorative quality mediated the relationship between NDVI and mental health. Tests of parallel mediation models did not find any significant indirect effects. In line with theory, tests of the serial mediation models showed that higher restorative quality was associated with more physical activity and more social cohesion, and in turn with better mental health. As for self-reported greenspace measures, single mediation through restorative quality was significant only for time in greenspace, and there was no mediation though restorative quality in the parallel mediation models; however, serial mediation through restorative quality and social cohesion/physical activity was indicated for all self-reported measures except for greenspace quality.Conclusions: Statistical models should adequately address the theoretically indicated interdependencies between mechanisms underlying association between greenspace and mental health. If such causal relationships hold, testing mediators alone or in parallel may lead to incorrect inferences about the relative contribution of specific paths, and thus to inappropriate intervention strategies.
|
|
| 4. |
- Markevych, Iana, et al.
(författare)
-
Exploring pathways linking greenspace to health : theoretical and methodological guidance
- 2017
-
Ingår i: Environmental Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0013-9351 .- 1096-0953. ; 158, s. 301-317
-
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.
|
|
