Does time spent on visits to green space mediate the associations between the level of residential greenness and mental health?

Magdalena van den Berg; Mireille van Poppel; Graham Smith; Margarita Triguero-Mas; Sandra Andrusaityte; Irene van Kamp; Willem van Mechelen; Christopher Gidlow; Regina Gražulevičiene; Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen; Hanneke Kruize; Jolanda Maas

doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2017.04.010

Does time spent on visits to green space mediate the associations between the level of residential greenness and mental health?

Magdalena van den Berg^*, Mireille van Poppel, Graham Smith, Margarita Triguero-Mas, Sandra Andrusaityte, Irene van Kamp, Willem van Mechelen, Christopher Gidlow, Regina Gražulevičiene, Mark J. Nieuwenhuijsen, Hanneke Kruize, Jolanda Maas

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

Objective The objective of the current study was to explore whether time spent visiting green space near home acts as a mediator in the association between level of residential greenness and perceived mental health. Methods Questionnaire data and satellite data of residential greenness were gathered in four European cities (total n = 3748): Barcelona (SP), Doetinchem (NL), Kaunas (LT) and Stoke-on-Trent (UK). Results Mediation analyses showed that time spent visiting green space near home was a weak, but statistically significant, mediator in the pooled data and in the Dutch sample only. Conclusions The findings provide little support for the hypothesis that purposeful visits are a mediator linking indirectly greenness with mental health. More research is needed to explore other mediators related to different exposure pathways, such as visual exposure, and alternative mechanisms, such as (perceived) safety.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	94-102
Number of pages	9
Journal	Urban Forestry and Urban Greening
Volume	25
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.04.010
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2017

Keywords

Cross-sectional study
Green space
Mediation
Mental health
Residential greenness
Time spent on visits

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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van den Berg, M., van Poppel, M., Smith, G., Triguero-Mas, M., Andrusaityte, S., van Kamp, I., van Mechelen, W., Gidlow, C., Gražulevičiene, R., Nieuwenhuijsen, M. J., Kruize, H., & Maas, J. (2017). Does time spent on visits to green space mediate the associations between the level of residential greenness and mental health? Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 25, 94-102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2017.04.010

@article{c82669541d8a42fcadc3e7af1c7a6d12,

title = "Does time spent on visits to green space mediate the associations between the level of residential greenness and mental health?",

abstract = "Objective The objective of the current study was to explore whether time spent visiting green space near home acts as a mediator in the association between level of residential greenness and perceived mental health. Methods Questionnaire data and satellite data of residential greenness were gathered in four European cities (total n = 3748): Barcelona (SP), Doetinchem (NL), Kaunas (LT) and Stoke-on-Trent (UK). Results Mediation analyses showed that time spent visiting green space near home was a weak, but statistically significant, mediator in the pooled data and in the Dutch sample only. Conclusions The findings provide little support for the hypothesis that purposeful visits are a mediator linking indirectly greenness with mental health. More research is needed to explore other mediators related to different exposure pathways, such as visual exposure, and alternative mechanisms, such as (perceived) safety.",

keywords = "Cross-sectional study, Green space, Mediation, Mental health, Residential greenness, Time spent on visits",

author = "{van den Berg}, Magdalena and {van Poppel}, Mireille and Graham Smith and Margarita Triguero-Mas and Sandra Andrusaityte and {van Kamp}, Irene and {van Mechelen}, Willem and Christopher Gidlow and Regina Gra{\v z}ulevi{\v c}iene and Nieuwenhuijsen, {Mark J.} and Hanneke Kruize and Jolanda Maas",

year = "2017",

month = jul,

day = "1",

doi = "10.1016/j.ufug.2017.04.010",

language = "English",

volume = "25",

pages = "94--102",

journal = "Urban Forestry & Urban Greening",

issn = "1618-8667",