Sea swimming and snorkeling in tropical coastal blue spaces and mental well-being: Findings from Indonesian island communities during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Author(s)
- Carya Maharja, Radisti Praptiwi, Bethany R. Roberts, Karyn Morrissey, Mathew White, Nuzulia M. Sari, Fauzan Cholifatullah, Jito Sugardjito, Lora E. Fleming
- Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has considerable mental health impacts. Immersive nature-based interventions, such as swimming or snorkeling, may help mitigate the global mental health crisis caused by the pandemic. To investigate this, we collected cross-sectional data from residents of coastal villages (n = 308) in Kepulauan Selayar, Indonesia. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used with mental well-being as the outcome variable, operationalized as the Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores from the SF-12 (12-item Short Form Health Survey). After adjusting for covariates, the activity of sea swimming or snorkeling was found to be significantly associated with better mental well-being (η2 = 0.036; p < 0.01). Predictive margins analysis revealed that those who engaged in sea swimming or snorkeling for one to three days a week gained a 2.7 increase in their MCS scores, compared to those who did not. A non-linear dose-response relationship was detected: for those swimming or snorkeling more than three days per week, there was only an increase of 1.7 MCS score compared to the 0-day. Overall this study contributes to the expanding of evidence base, showing that interactions with blue spaces can be beneficial for mental health, especially in a potentially stressful time such as the current pandemic.
- Organisation(s)
- Vienna Cognitive Science Hub
- External organisation(s)
- University of Exeter, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Universitas Nasional Pionir Perubahan, Universitas Esa Unggul
- Journal
- Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
- Volume
- 41
- No. of pages
- 11
- ISSN
- 2213-0780
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jort.2022.100584
- Publication date
- 11-2022
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 501001 General psychology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
- Sustainable Development Goals
- SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
- Portal url
- https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/en/publications/sea-swimming-and-snorkeling-in-tropical-coastal-blue-spaces-and-mental-wellbeing-findings-from-indonesian-island-communities-during-the-covid19-pandemic(cdfc178f-3298-4cb5-b8d8-780ccaa81dc0).html