IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i20p13356-d943897.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Spending Time in Nature Serves as a Protective Factor against Problematic Alcohol Use: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach

Author

Listed:
  • Shahar Almog

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Nichole M. Scaglione

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • JeeWon Cheong

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Jillian M. Rung

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Andrea Vásquez Ferreiro

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

  • Meredith S. Berry

    (Department of Health Education and Behavior, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
    Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA)

Abstract

Alcohol use in the U.S. continues to be a prevalent behavior with the potential for far-reaching personal and public health consequences. Risk factors for problematic drinking include negative affect and impulsive decision-making. Research suggests exposure to nature reduces negative affect, increases positive affect, and reduces impulsive choice. The purpose of the current study was to explore the relationships between exposure to nature (actively going out to nature and the level of greenness around the participant’s daily life), affect, impulsive decision-making, and alcohol use, using structural equation modeling. Cross-sectional data ( N = 340) collected online on Amazon MTurk were used to test the hypothesized relationships separately for alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems. Actively spending time in nature was associated with lower negative affect and higher positive affect, while passive exposure to nature was only associated with higher positive affect. In turn, negative affect was positively related to both alcohol measures, while positive affect was related to increased alcohol consumption, but not alcohol-related problems. Impulsive decision-making was not related to nature or alcohol measures. Findings suggest that intentionally spending time in nature may protect against problematic alcohol use by reducing negative affect. These results warrant further research on nature as an adjunct treatment for reducing alcohol and substance-related harms and carry implications for public education and increasing accessibility to natural spaces.

Suggested Citation

  • Shahar Almog & Nichole M. Scaglione & JeeWon Cheong & Jillian M. Rung & Andrea Vásquez Ferreiro & Meredith S. Berry, 2022. "Spending Time in Nature Serves as a Protective Factor against Problematic Alcohol Use: A Structural Equation Modeling Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-14, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13356-:d:943897
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13356/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/20/13356/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meredith A Repke & Meredith S Berry & Lucian G Conway III & Alexander Metcalf & Reid M Hensen & Conor Phelan, 2018. "How does nature exposure make people healthier?: Evidence for the role of impulsivity and expanded space perception," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-20, August.
    2. Jeremy Mennis & Xiaojiang Li & Mahbubur Meenar & J. Douglas Coatsworth & Thomas P. McKeon & Michael J. Mason, 2021. "Residential Greenspace and Urban Adolescent Substance Use: Exploring Interactive Effects with Peer Network Health, Sex, and Executive Function," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Francisco Díaz-Martínez & Miguel F. Sánchez-Sauco & Laura T. Cabrera-Rivera & Carlos Ojeda Sánchez & Maria D. Hidalgo-Albadalejo & Luz Claudio & Juan A. Ortega-García, 2023. "Systematic Review: Neurodevelopmental Benefits of Active/Passive School Exposure to Green and/or Blue Spaces in Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-29, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Andreea Orîndaru & Mihaela Constantinescu & Claudia-Elena Țuclea & Ștefan-Claudiu Căescu & Margareta Stela Florescu & Ionel Dumitru, 2020. "Rurbanization—Making the City Greener: Young Citizen Implication and Future Actions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-20, September.
    2. Larissa Samaan & Leonie Klock & Sandra Weber & Mirjam Reidick & Leonie Ascone & Simone Kühn, 2024. "Low-Level Visual Features of Window Views Contribute to Perceived Naturalness and Mental Health Outcomes," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 21(5), pages 1-35, May.
    3. Migle Baceviciene & Rasa Jankauskiene, 2022. "The Mediating Effect of Nature Restorativeness, Stress Level, and Nature Connectedness in the Association between Nature Exposure and Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-15, February.
    4. Lisette Ibanez & Sébastien Roussel, 2022. "The impact of nature video exposure on pro-environmental behavior: An experimental investigation," Post-Print hal-03847453, HAL.
    5. Angelo Panno & Annalisa Theodorou & Giuseppe Alessio Carbone & Evelina De Longis & Chiara Massullo & Gianluca Cepale & Giuseppe Carrus & Claudio Imperatori & Giovanni Sanesi, 2021. "Go Greener, Less Risk: Access to Nature Is Associated with Lower Risk Taking in Different Domains during the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Hansen Li & Xing Zhang & Shilin Bi & Haowei Liu & Yang Cao & Guodong Zhang, 2021. "Green Exercise: Can Nature Video Benefit Isometric Exercise?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, May.
    7. Argyro Anna Kanelli & Margarita Kokkinaki & Marios-Dimitrios Sinvare & Chrisovalantis Malesios & Panayiotis G. Dimitrakopoulos & Olga-Ioanna Kalantzi, 2023. "Keep Calm and Go Out: Urban Nature Exposure, Mental Health, and Perceived Value during the COVID-19 Lockdown," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, May.
    8. Zheng Xian & Tomoki Nakaya & Kun Liu & Bing Zhao & Junhua Zhang & Jiao Zhang & Yuxuan Lin & Jinguang Zhang, 2024. "The effects of neighbourhood green spaces on mental health of disadvantaged groups: a systematic review," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Migle Baceviciene & Rasa Jankauskiene & Viren Swami, 2021. "Nature Exposure and Positive Body Image: A Cross–Sectional Study Examining the Mediating Roles of Physical Activity, Autonomous Motivation, Connectedness to Nature, and Perceived Restorativeness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-16, November.
    10. Hansen Li & Haowei Liu & Zongqian Yang & Shilin Bi & Yang Cao & Guodong Zhang, 2020. "The Effects of Green and Urban Walking in Different Time Frames on Physio-Psychological Responses of Middle-Aged and Older People in Chengdu, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-18, December.
    11. Linda Powers Tomasso & Jie Yin & Jose Guillermo Cedeño Laurent & Jarvis T. Chen & Paul J. Catalano & John D. Spengler, 2021. "The Relationship between Nature Deprivation and Individual Wellbeing across Urban Gradients under COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-20, February.
    12. Thivya Laxshmy Raman & Nor Akmar Abdul Aziz & Sam Shor Nahar Yaakob, 2021. "The Effects of Different Natural Environment Influences on Health and Psychological Well-Being of People: A Case Study in Selangor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-14, August.
    13. Yating Song & Xuefei Lin, 2022. "The Effects of Exercise and Social Interaction in Different Natural Environments on the Mental Health of Urban Residents," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, October.
    14. Francisco Díaz-Martínez & Miguel F. Sánchez-Sauco & Laura T. Cabrera-Rivera & Carlos Ojeda Sánchez & Maria D. Hidalgo-Albadalejo & Luz Claudio & Juan A. Ortega-García, 2023. "Systematic Review: Neurodevelopmental Benefits of Active/Passive School Exposure to Green and/or Blue Spaces in Children and Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-29, February.
    15. Sandra Wajchman-Świtalska & Alina Zajadacz & Marcin Woźniak & Roman Jaszczak & Cezary Beker, 2022. "Recreational Evaluation of Forests in Urban Environments: Methodological and Practical Aspects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-20, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:20:p:13356-:d:943897. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.