The study, published in the journal Current Psychology, found that people with higher levels of "nature connectedness" also spent more time outdoors and were more likely to engage in pro-environmental behaviours. However, the researchers stress that the findings show an association—not cause and effect.

The research, conducted by Katarzyna Bajkowska, Klaudia Modlińska, Ludmiła Rycielska and Ewa Domaradzka of the Nature & Wellbeing Lab at the Institute of Psychology of the Polish Academy of Sciences, surveyed 1,038 adults from across Poland as part of a project funded by the Polish National Science Centre.

Bajkowska said nature connectedness refers to a person's emotional relationship with the natural world rather than their environmental knowledge or ecological beliefs. Although considered a relatively stable personal trait, previous research suggests it can be strengthened through contact with nature.

The researchers found that participants with higher levels of nature connectedness spent more time in natural environments, were more likely to adopt pro-environmental behaviours and reported higher psychological well-being alongside lower levels of stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms.

"Our results are consistent with a growing body of research showing that contact with nature is an important element in maintaining well-being. More time spent in nature is associated with lower levels of anxiety and depression, lower stress levels, and greater life satisfaction," said Ewa Domaradzka.

The researchers cautioned that the study cannot determine whether feeling connected to nature improves mental health or whether people with better mental well-being are simply more likely to develop such a connection.

"Our results show that nature connectedness is associated with psychological well-being, but they do not allow us to determine cause and effect. We cannot say whether connection with nature improves well-being, or whether people with better mental functioning are more likely to develop or declare such a connection," Bajkowska said.

She added that the study was not designed to identify the mechanisms behind the relationship.

"Based on previous research, it can be assumed that contact with nature promotes relaxation, emotion regulation, and tension reduction. A sense of belonging to something larger than one's own daily affairs may also be important. However, these are interpretations based on previous literature, not our study," she explained.

Bajkowska also noted that the relationship between time spent in nature and nature connectedness may work in both directions.

"More frequent contact with nature may strengthen the sense of nature connectedness, but it is just as possible that people already more strongly connected to nature may seek out opportunities to spend time in it more often," she pointed out.

The study found that age was the only socio-demographic factor linked to nature connectedness, with older participants reporting a stronger sense of connection. No significant relationship was found with gender, education level or the size of participants' place of residence.

As part of the project, the researchers also validated the Polish version of the seven-item Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS-7), concluding that it has strong psychometric properties and can be used in future studies.

"To conduct research on the sense of nature connectedness, one first needs a well-proven tool to measure it, and the Polish version of the CNS-7 can be such a tool," Bajkowska said.

"We retained those questions that best contributed to the overall scale score, had good statistical properties, and at the same time retained the theoretical meaning of the tool," the authors explained.

The researchers believe the findings could have implications beyond psychology, including for environmental education, mental health promotion, encouraging pro-environmental behaviour and urban planning.

According to Domaradzka, increasing evidence suggests that access to green spaces should be considered a public health issue.

"More time spent in nature is associated with reduced anxiety and depression, lower stress levels, and greater subjective life satisfaction. Preliminary results from our other studies suggest that one of the mechanisms responsible for this effect may be a sense of nature connectedness. However, the study published in Current Psychology did not address this issue directly," she emphasised.

In her view, the findings also have implications for how cities are designed.

"Cities should ensure that residents have easy access to green spaces. This can benefit both residents (by improving well-being) and the entire healthcare system, as well as foster greater public engagement in pro-environmental activities," Domaradzka emphasised.

The team is now conducting follow-up research using experience-sampling methods and smartwatch data to better understand how contact with nature affects well-being, including the role of nature connectedness and emotion regulation.

"Thanks to this research, we will be able to better understand the mechanisms through which contact with nature affects well-being, including the role of a sense of nature connectedness and emotion regulation," Domaradzka said.

The researchers also plan to investigate whether the mental health benefits associated with contact with nature differ between summer and winter. (PAP)

wl/ bar/

tr. RL