Nature visits, but not residential greenness, are associated with reduced income-related inequalities in subjective well-being
- Author(s)
- Leonie Fian, Mathew White, Arne Arnberger, Thomas Thaler, Anja Heske, Sabine Pahl
- Abstract
Nature exposure can promote human health and well-being. Additionally, there is some, albeit mixed, evidence that this relationship is stronger for socio-economically disadvantaged groups (equigenesis). Using a cross-sectional survey of the Austrian population (N = 2300), we explored the relationships between both residential greenness and recreational nature visits, and affective (WHO-5 Well-Being Index) and evaluative (Personal Well-Being Index-7) subjective well-being. Partially supporting the equigenesis hypothesis, regression analyses controlling for potential confounders found that recreational visit frequency, but not residential greenness, moderated the effect of income-related disparities in both subjective well-being metrics. Results suggest that merely making neighborhoods greener may not itself help reduce inequalities in subjective well-being. Additionally, greater efforts are also needed to support individuals from all sectors of society to access natural settings for recreation as this could significantly improve the well-being of some of the poorest in society.
- Organisation(s)
- Research Platform Plastics in the Environment and Society, Vienna Cognitive Science Hub, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology
- External organisation(s)
- Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
- Journal
- Health and Place
- Volume
- 85
- ISSN
- 1353-8292
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103175
- Publication date
- 01-2024
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501001 General psychology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Health(social science), Life-span and Life-course Studies, Sociology and Political Science
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 10 - Reduced Inequalities, SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/nature-visits-but-not-residential-greenness-are-associated-with-reduced-incomerelated-inequalities-in-subjective-wellbeing(bfdfe528-9031-4e1b-9e15-b14786560f22).html