Nature exposure, satisfaction with life and loneliness: the mediating role of restorative experiences in nature

• Joana Neto ^[1] ; Félix Neto ^[2]
  1. [1] Universidade Portucalense

     Universidade Portucalense

     Santo Ildefonso, Portugal

     
  2. [2] Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Porto Center for Psychology at University of Porto
• Localización: PsyEcology: Bilingual Journal of Environmental Psychology / Revista Bilingüe de Psicología Ambiental, ISSN-e 1989-9386, ISSN 2171-1976, Vol. 17, Nº. 2, 2026, págs. 207-228
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1177/21711976261430267
• Títulos paralelos:
  • Exposición a la naturaleza, satisfacción vital y soledad: el papel mediador de las experiencias restaurativas en la naturaleza
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen
  • español

    La exposición a la naturaleza ha presentado relaciones positivas con la satisfacción vital (SV) y relaciones negativas con la soledad. Sin embargo, los mecanismos subyacentes que pueden mediar estas relaciones aún son limitados. La capacidad restauradora de la naturaleza puede ser una de esas variables mediadoras. Este artículo informa sobre el papel de la restauración por la naturaleza en la relación entre la exposición a la naturaleza y dos resultados de salud mental: la SV y la soledad. La muestra estuvo compuesta por 235 mujeres y 113 hombres con una edad promedio de 35 años (DT = 16.2 años). Respondieron escalas para medir (1) exposición a la naturaleza, (2) resultados restaurativos, (3) SV y (4) soledad. La exposición a la naturaleza se asoció positivamente con resultados restaurativos y SV, y negativamente con la soledad. Las regresiones jerárquicas y análisis de mediación mostraron que la restauración por la naturaleza medió significativa y completamente el vínculo entre la exposición a la naturaleza y (1) la SV y (2) la soledad. Los hallazgos sugieren que es probable que las experiencias restaurativas en la naturaleza sean aspectos relevantes de la experiencia de las personas en la naturaleza y que los resultados positivos en la salud mental estén relacionados con ellas.

  • English

    Nature exposure has presented positive relationships with satisfaction with life and negative relationships with loneliness. Nonetheless, studies on the underlying mechanisms that may mediate these relationships are still limited. Nature restorativeness may be one such mediating variable. This paper reports on the role of nature restorativeness in the relationship between exposure to nature and two mental health outcomes — satisfaction with life and loneliness. The sample included 235 women and 113 men with an average age of 35 years (SD = 16.2 years). They answered scales to measure (1) nature exposure, (2) restorative outcomes, (3) satisfaction with life and (4) loneliness. Nature exposure was positively associated with restorative outcomes and satisfaction with life, and negatively associated with loneliness. Hierarchical regressions and mediation analyses showed that nature restorativeness significantly fully mediated the link between nature exposure and (1) satisfaction with life and (2) loneliness. The findings suggested that restorative experiences in nature are likely to be relevant aspects of people’s experience of nature, and positive mental health outcomes are related to them.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Andersen L., Corazon S. S., Stigsdotter U. K. (2021). Nature exposure and its effects on immune system functioning: A systematic review. International...
  • Astell-Burt T., Hartig T., Putra I. G. N., Walsan R. E., Dendup T., Feng X. (2022). Green space and loneliness: A systematic review with theoretical...
  • Baceviciene M., Jankauskiene R. (2022). The mediating effect of nature restorativeness, stress level, and nature connectedness in the association...
  • Baceviciene M., Jankauskiene R., Swami V. (2021). Nature exposure and positive body image: Examining the mediating roles of physical activity,...
  • Bowler D. E., Buyung-Ali L. M., Knight T. M., Pullin A. S. (2010). A systematic review of the evidence for the added benefits to health of...
  • Bratman G. N., Anderson C. B., Berman M. G., Cochran B., de Vries S., Flanders J., Folke C., Frumkin H., Gross J. J., Hartig T., Kahn P. H....
  • Bratman G. N., Olvera-Alvarez H. A., Gross J. J. (2021). The affective benefits of nature exposure. Social and Personality Psychology Compass,...
  • Brislin R. W. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments. In Lonner W., Berry J. (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural...
  • Bzdok D., Dunbar R. I. M. (2020). The neurobiology of social distance. Trends Cognitive Sciences, 24(9), 717–733. https://doi-org.bucm.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.016
  • Cacioppo S., Grippo A. J., London S., Goossens L., Cacioppo J. T. (2015). Loneliness: Clinical import and interventions. Perspectives on Psychological...
  • Cleary A., Fielding K. S., Bell S. L., Murray Z., Roiko A. (2017). Exploring potential mechanisms involved in the relationship between eudaimonic...
  • Cohen J. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Rev. ed.). Academic Press. https://doi-org.bucm.idm.oclc.org/10.4324/9780203771587
  • Craig C., Menon C. V., Klein M. I. (2015). A positive relationship between nature appreciation, emotional functioning, and perception of work...
  • Diener E. (2013). The remarkable changes in the science of subjective well-being. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 8(6), 663–666. https://doi-org.bucm.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1745691613507583
  • Diener E., Emmons R. A., Larsen R. J., Griffin S. (1985). The Satisfaction with Life Scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49(1), 71–75....
  • Fong K., Hart J. E., James P. A. (2018). Review of epidemiologic studies on greenness and health: Updated literature through 2017. Current...
  • Galper D. I., Trivedi M. H., Barlow C. E., Dunn A. L., Kampert J. B. (2006). Inverse association between physical inactivity and mental health...
  • Holt-Lunstad J., Smith T. B., Baker M., Harris T., Stephenson D. (2015). Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for mortality: A...
  • Houlden V., Weich S., de Albuquerque J. P., Jarvis S., Rees K. (2018). The relationship between greenspace and the mental wellbeing of adults:...
  • Hu L. T., Bentler P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives....
  • Iasiello M., van Agteren J. (2020). Mental health and/or mental illness: A scoping review of the evidence and implications of the dual-continua...
  • Jennings V., Bamkole O. (2019). The relationship between social cohesion and urban green space: An avenue for health promotion. International...
  • Judge T. A., Thoresen C. J., Bono J. E., Patton G. K. (2001). The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative...
  • Kamitsis I., Francis A. J. P. (2013). Spirituality mediates the relationship between engagement with nature and psychological wellbeing. Journal...
  • Kaplan R., Kaplan S. (1989). The experience of nature: A psychological perspective. Cambridge University Press.
  • Kaplan R., Kaplan S., Ryan R. L. (1998). With people in mind: Design and management of everyday nature. Island Press.
  • Kaplan S. (1995). The restorative benefits of nature: Toward an integrative framework. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 15(3), 169–182....
  • Klein Y., Lindfors P., Hanson L. L. M., Stenfors C. U. D. (2025). Development of nature-related habits and their relation to mental health...
  • Korpela K., Borodulin K., Neuvonen M., Paronen O., Tyrväinen L. (2014). Analyzing the mediators between nature-based outdoor recreation and...
  • Korpela K., Ylén M. (2009). Effectiveness of favorite-place prescriptions: A field experiment. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 36(5),...
  • Markevych I., Schoierer J., Hartig T., Chudnovsky A., Hystad P., Dzhambov A. M., de Vries S., Triguero-Mas M., Brauer M., Nieuwenhuijsen M....
  • Mayer S. F., Frantz C. M. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of...
  • Menardo E., Brondinom M., Hall R., Pasini M. (2021). Restorativeness in natural and urban environments: A meta-analysis. Psychological Reports,...
  • Munoz Sastre M. T., Vainsonneau G., Neto F., Girard M., Mullet E. (2003). Forgiveness and satisfaction with life. Journal of Happiness Studies,...
  • Neto F. (1993). Satisfaction with life scale: Psychometric properties in an adolescent sample. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 22(2),...
  • Neto F. (2014). Psychometric analysis of the short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-6) in older adults. European Journal of Ageing, 11, 313–319....
  • Neto F. (2021). Loneliness among African international students at Portuguese universities. Journal of International Students, 11(2), 397–416....
  • Pasanen T. P., Ojala A., Tyrväinen L., Korpela K. M. (2018). Restoration, well-being, and everyday physical activity in indoor, built outdoor...
  • Pavot W., Diener E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scale. Psychological Assessment, 5(2), 164–172. https://doi-org.bucm.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/1040-3590.5.2.164
  • Perlman D., Peplau L. A. (1981). Toward a social pychology of loneliness. In Duck S., Gilmour R. (Eds.), Personal relationships in disorder,...
  • Raanaas R. K., Evensen K. H., Rich D., Sjostrom G., Patil G. (2011). Benefits of indoor plants on attention capacity in an office setting....
  • Russell D., Peplau L., Cutrona C. (1980). The revised UCLA Loneliness Scale: Concurrent and discriminant validity evidence. Journal of Personality...
  • Shuda Q., Bougoulias M. E., Kass R. (2020). Effect of nature exposure on perceived and physiologic stress: A systematic review. Complementary...
  • Swami V., Barron D., Weis L., Furnham A. (2016). Bodies in nature: Associations between exposure to nature, connectedness to nature, and body...
  • Swami V., Tran U. S., Stieger S., Voracek M. (2022). Developing a model linking self-reported nature exposure and positive body image: A study...
  • Swami V., White M., Voracek M., Tran U., Aavik T., Ranjbar H., Adebayo S., Afhami R., Ahmed O., Aimé A., Akel M., Al Halbusi H., Alexias G.,...
  • Ulrich R. S. (1983). Aesthetic and affective response to natural environments. In Altman I., Wohlwill J. F. (Eds.), Human behaviour and environment...
  • Ulrich R. S., Simons R., Losito B. D., Fiorito E., Miles M. A., Zelson M. (1991). Stress recovery during exposure to natural and urban environments....
  • United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development. UNO.
  • van den Berg A. E., Koole S. L., van der Wulp N. Y. (2003). Environmental preference and restoration: (How) are they related? Journal of Environmental...
  • Whitburn J., Linklater W. L., Milfont T. L. (2019). Exposure to urban nature and tree planting are related to pro-environmental behavior via...
  • White M. P., Alcock I., Wheeler B. W., Depledge M. H. (2013). Would you be happier living in a greener urban area? A fixed-effects analysis...
  • White M. P., Smith A., Humphryes K., Pahl S., Snelling D., Depledge M. (2010). Blue space: The importance of water for preference, affect,...
  • World Health Organization. (2014). Mental health: A state of well-being. World Health Organization.
  • World Health Organization. (2023). WHO launches commission to foster social connection. World Health Organization.