Contact with nature for emotion regulation: the roles of nature connectedness and beauty engagement in urban young adults

Bibliographic Details
Title: Contact with nature for emotion regulation: the roles of nature connectedness and beauty engagement in urban young adults
Authors: Xuan Gu, Hailin Zheng, Chi-Shing Tse
Source: Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-11 (2023)
Publisher Information: Nature Portfolio, 2023.
Publication Year: 2023
Collection: LCC:Medicine
LCC:Science
Subject Terms: Medicine, Science
More Details: Abstract Contact with nature has emotional benefits, but the psychological mechanism and potential moderator underlying the association between nature contact and emotion regulation remain unclear. The present study investigated how self-reported frequency of nature contact is associated with the use of emotion regulation strategies and explored the mediating role of nature connectedness (i.e., psychological connection to nature) and the moderating role of engagement with natural beauty. Employing mediation and moderated mediation analyses, in a cross-sectional sample of 2097 young adults aged 18–35 years old (M = 24.01, SD = 4.80) residing in urban China, we obtained three major findings. First, nature connectedness mediated the associations between direct/indirect nature contact and cognitive reappraisal as well as expressive suppression. Second, engagement with natural beauty moderated the path from direct/indirect nature contact to cognitive reappraisal in the mediation models. Third, engagement with natural beauty moderated the path from indirect nature contact to nature connectedness in the mediation models. Our study is the first to reveal mediating and moderating factors in the relationships among direct/indirect contact with nature, nature connectedness, engagement with natural beauty, and emotion regulation strategies. These findings provide support for the emotional health of nature contact and have implications for nature-based education and urban planning.
Document Type: article
File Description: electronic resource
Language: English
ISSN: 2045-2322
Relation: https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48756-4
Access URL: https://doaj.org/article/d75613871d144a42a7e918dcaff94add
Accession Number: edsdoj.75613871d144a42a7e918dcaff94add
Database: Directory of Open Access Journals
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More Details
ISSN:20452322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-023-48756-4
Published in:Scientific Reports
Language:English