Nature Contact Linked to Higher Levels of Positive Well-Being in Young Adults During the Pandemic

Abstract

Previous research has established that nature contact can support psychological well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on mental health, through immense uncertainty about the future and disruptions to everyday life, and these impacts appear to have been especially severe for young adults. This study sought to complement previous research by exploring whether incidental and intentional nature contact were associated with declines in negative well-being (i.e., anxiety and social isolation) and/or improvements to positive well-being (i.e., vitality and attentional functioning) of young adults during the pandemic. To explore this issue, an online survey assessing various aspects of well-being and nature exposure during the pandemic was distributed to two different populations of young adults, aged 18–25 years, in the mid to late summer of 2021. University students comprised Sample 1 (N = 173). Sample 2 was collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk workers and consisted of a slightly older and employed group of young adults (N = 154). A series of linear regressions were used to examine whether incidental and intentional nature contact were significant predictors of well-being, after first accounting for demographic variables. Results from both samples indicated that nature exposure was associated with improvements in vitality and attentional function, but not in feelings of anxiety and isolation. There was also evidence indicating that more intentional nature contact was especially beneficial for both groups. Overall, these findings lend support to the notion that nature contact may offer protective effects during times of stress for young adults.