Easing Gloom with Bloom?: The influence of depression on restoration of affect and stress after viewing nature

Empirical evidence shows that exposure to natural environments can improve affect and stress, especially for people suffering from depressive symptoms. Research on the restorative effect of natural environments in relation to depressive symptoms may prove useful for urban populations in which depressive symptoms are relatively more prevalent while natural environments are less accessible. The present study aims to offer insight into how depressive symptoms influence the restorative effects of natural environments on affect and stress compared to urban environments. An online questionnaire was used to measure depressive symptoms as well as affect and feelings of stress before and after exposure to a series of photographs of either natural or busy urban environments. Participants (N = 230) were divided in four groups based on presence of depressive symptoms (depressed, nondepressed) and type of environment (natural, urban). A Kruskal-Wallis test with post-hoc procedures was applied to...Show moreEmpirical evidence shows that exposure to natural environments can improve affect and stress, especially for people suffering from depressive symptoms. Research on the restorative effect of natural environments in relation to depressive symptoms may prove useful for urban populations in which depressive symptoms are relatively more prevalent while natural environments are less accessible. The present study aims to offer insight into how depressive symptoms influence the restorative effects of natural environments on affect and stress compared to urban environments. An online questionnaire was used to measure depressive symptoms as well as affect and feelings of stress before and after exposure to a series of photographs of either natural or busy urban environments. Participants (N = 230) were divided in four groups based on presence of depressive symptoms (depressed, nondepressed) and type of environment (natural, urban). A Kruskal-Wallis test with post-hoc procedures was applied to assess differences between groups in affect and stress change. Results show no difference in affect and stress change between depressed and nondepressed groups. Negative affect and stress decreased in the nature condition. Positive affect decreased while stress increased in the urban condition. The findings suggest that natural environment can indeed improve affect and stress while urban environments can be detrimental, regardless of depressive symptoms.Show less

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Easing Gloom with Bloom? The influence of depression on restoration of affect and stress after viewing nature