IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i5p1386-d211475.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Towards a Better Understanding of the Relationship between Individual’s Self-Reported Connection to Nature, Personal Well-Being and Environmental Awareness

Author

Listed:
  • Kay Fretwell

    (School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9LD, UK)

  • Alison Greig

    (Global Sustainability Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UK)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationships between an individual’s self-reported connection to nature (CTN) and aspects of their personal well-being (PWB) and environmental awareness. Specifically, it addresses (i) the relationship between CTN and PWB; (ii) the external variables which influence trait-level CTN over a person’s life course and (iii) how individuals feel about CTN. A mixed methodology is used, with qualitative data adding depth and insight into the statistical associations recorded. The results are drawn from a sample of 222 respondents living in the City of Bath, UK. This study uncovered a significant relationship between CTN and some aspects of PWB which did not always align with research undertaken in other countries. Demographic variables, childhood experiences of nature, usual frequency of nature contact, and nature-related hobbies were all found to affect CTN. A number of barriers to CTN were also identified. Although the literature already provides considerable evidence of positive relationships between contact with nature and a range of mental and physical health benefits, the nature and mechanisms behind these relationships are not well understood, particularly for the UK population. As these associations are increasingly being used to underpin both health and environmental interventions and campaigns it is important that we better understand these relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Kay Fretwell & Alison Greig, 2019. "Towards a Better Understanding of the Relationship between Individual’s Self-Reported Connection to Nature, Personal Well-Being and Environmental Awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1386-:d:211475
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1386/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/5/1386/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. van den Berg, Agnes E. & Maas, Jolanda & Verheij, Robert A. & Groenewegen, Peter P., 2010. "Green space as a buffer between stressful life events and health," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(8), pages 1203-1210, April.
    2. Elizabeth Nisbet & John Zelenski & Steven Murphy, 2011. "Happiness is in our Nature: Exploring Nature Relatedness as a Contributor to Subjective Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 12(2), pages 303-322, April.
    3. Ethan McMahan & David Estes, 2011. "Hedonic Versus Eudaimonic Conceptions of Well-being: Evidence of Differential Associations With Self-reported Well-being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 103(1), pages 93-108, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Argyro Anna Kanelli & Margarita Kokkinaki & Marios-Dimitrios Sinvare & Chrisovalantis Malesios & Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos & Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi, 2023. "Keep Calm and Go Out: Urban Nature Exposure, Mental Health, and Perceived Value during the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, May.
    2. S. Brent Jackson & Kathryn T. Stevenson & Lincoln R. Larson & M. Nils Peterson & Erin Seekamp, 2021. "Outdoor Activity Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-18, March.
    3. Tingting Zhang & Dan He & Tian Kuang & Ke Chen, 2022. "Effect of Rural Human Settlement Environment around Nature Reserves on Farmers’ Well-Being: A Field Survey Based on 1002 Farmer Households around Six Nature Reserves in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-18, May.
    4. Migle Baceviciene & Rasa Jankauskiene, 2022. "The Mediating Effect of Nature Restorativeness, Stress Level, and Nature Connectedness in the Association between Nature Exposure and Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    5. Bertram, Christine & Rehdanz, Katrin, 2015. "The role of urban green space for human well-being," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 139-152.
    6. Somajita Paul & Harini Nagendra, 2017. "Factors Influencing Perceptions and Use of Urban Nature: Surveys of Park Visitors in Delhi," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(2), pages 1-23, April.
    7. Siqi Lai & Brian Deal, 2022. "Parks, Green Space, and Happiness: A Spatially Specific Sentiment Analysis Using Microblogs in Shanghai, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, December.
    8. Wenjie Li & Linting Zhang & Chengcheng Li & Ningzhe Zhu & Jingjing Zhao & Feng Kong, 2022. "Pursuing Pleasure or Meaning: A Cross-Lagged Analysis of Happiness Motives and Well-being in Adolescents," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 3981-3999, December.
    9. Alison Pritchard & Miles Richardson & David Sheffield & Kirsten McEwan, 2020. "The Relationship Between Nature Connectedness and Eudaimonic Well-Being: A Meta-analysis," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 1145-1167, March.
    10. Enrique A. Mundaca & Mariana Lazzaro-Salazar & Lucas Pujol-Cols & María Teresa Muñoz-Quezada, 2021. "The Emotional and Cognitive Scale of the Human–Nature Relationship (ECS-HNR)," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(1), pages 21582440211, March.
    11. Hessels, Jolanda & Rietveld, Cornelius A. & van der Zwan, Peter, 2017. "Self-employment and work-related stress: The mediating role of job control and job demand," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 178-196.
    12. Antonios Kolimenakis & Alexandra D. Solomou & Nikolaos Proutsos & Evangelia V. Avramidou & Evangelia Korakaki & Georgios Karetsos & Georgios Maroulis & Eleftherios Papagiannis & Konstantinia Tsagkari, 2021. "The Socioeconomic Welfare of Urban Green Areas and Parks; A Literature Review of Available Evidence," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-26, July.
    13. Rocío Calvo & Mariana Arcaya & Christopher Baum & Sarah Lowe & Mary Waters, 2015. "Happily Ever After? Pre-and-Post Disaster Determinants of Happiness Among Survivors of Hurricane Katrina," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 427-442, April.
    14. repec:cup:judgdm:v:8:y:2013:i:4:p:397-406 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Wang, Zi & Yuan, Ruizhi & Luo, Jun & Liu, Martin J., 2022. "Redefining “masstige” luxury consumption in the post-COVID era," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 239-254.
    16. Andreia Teixeira & Ronaldo Gabriel & José Martinho & Graça Pinto & Luís Quaresma & Aurélio Faria & Irene Oliveira & Helena Moreira, 2021. "Connectedness to Nature Does Not Explain the Variation in Physical Activity and Body Composition in Adults and Older People," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-20, November.
    17. Laura Jackson & Jessica Daniel & Betsy McCorkle & Alexandra Sears & Kathleen Bush, 2013. "Linking ecosystem services and human health: the Eco-Health Relationship Browser," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 58(5), pages 747-755, October.
    18. Irina Iulia Năstase & Ileana Pătru-Stupariu & Felix Kienast, 2019. "Landscape Preferences and Distance Decay Analysis for Mapping the Recreational Potential of an Urban Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-19, July.
    19. Mehdi Rezaei & Doohwan Kim & Ahad Alizadeh & Ladan Rokni, 2021. "Evaluating the Mental-Health Positive Impacts of Agritourism; A Case Study from South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    20. Sabrina Intelisano & Julia Krasko & Maike Luhmann, 2020. "Integrating Philosophical and Psychological Accounts of Happiness and Well-Being," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 161-200, January.
    21. Matthias Winfried Kleespies & Tina Braun & Paul Wilhelm Dierkes & Volker Wenzel, 2021. "Measuring Connection to Nature—A Illustrated Extension of the Inclusion of Nature in Self Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-14, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:5:p:1386-:d:211475. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.