Neighbourhood greenspaces and mental wellbeing among university students in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey under lockdown
Neighbourhood greenspaces and mental wellbeing among university students in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey under lockdown
The COVID-19 pandemic mobility and socialization restrictions and the switch to online learning impacted the day-to-day life of university students in England, a group previously identified as at risk for low wellbeing. In April–May 2021, during the tail end of the third ‘lockdown’ in England, we implemented an online questionnaire to better understand mental wellbeing in relationship to use of outdoor green space among university students. This article presents the results from 424 responses collected across 4 universities in Oxford and Southampton. Analyses include descriptive results of indicators and hierarchical multiple linear regression models. Findings revealed that quality of greenspace had a greater importance on mental wellbeing than use and quantity of greenspace, even when controlling for sociodemographic factors. Also, neighbourhood greenspace quality contributed to wellbeing above and beyond sociodemographc, physical activity and social support. This result held true even among students with prior mental health difficulties. Findings underscore the importance of greenspace access for wellbeing. Neighbourhoods and university campuses should be planned with the notion in mind that greenspace matters and contributes to health.
COVID-19, England, greenspace, survey, university students, Wellbeing
Lemyre, Anaïs
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Chrisinger, Benjamin W.
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Palmer-Cooper, Emma
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Messina, Jane P.
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Lemyre, Anaïs
3adae165-6be9-4141-a39f-99f0f64ceef5
Chrisinger, Benjamin W.
792cc9fa-9203-41a6-8064-b60b7ae20f1a
Palmer-Cooper, Emma
e96e8cb6-2221-4dc7-b556-603f2cf6b086
Messina, Jane P.
d7056ef3-752d-48df-8907-2161e498b47c
Lemyre, Anaïs, Chrisinger, Benjamin W., Palmer-Cooper, Emma and Messina, Jane P.
(2023)
Neighbourhood greenspaces and mental wellbeing among university students in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey under lockdown.
Cities & Health.
(doi:10.1080/23748834.2023.2282851).
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic mobility and socialization restrictions and the switch to online learning impacted the day-to-day life of university students in England, a group previously identified as at risk for low wellbeing. In April–May 2021, during the tail end of the third ‘lockdown’ in England, we implemented an online questionnaire to better understand mental wellbeing in relationship to use of outdoor green space among university students. This article presents the results from 424 responses collected across 4 universities in Oxford and Southampton. Analyses include descriptive results of indicators and hierarchical multiple linear regression models. Findings revealed that quality of greenspace had a greater importance on mental wellbeing than use and quantity of greenspace, even when controlling for sociodemographic factors. Also, neighbourhood greenspace quality contributed to wellbeing above and beyond sociodemographc, physical activity and social support. This result held true even among students with prior mental health difficulties. Findings underscore the importance of greenspace access for wellbeing. Neighbourhoods and university campuses should be planned with the notion in mind that greenspace matters and contributes to health.
Text
Neighbourhood greenspaces and mental wellbeing among university students in England during the COVID-19 pandemic an online survey under lockdown
- Version of Record
More information
Accepted/In Press date: 8 November 2023
e-pub ahead of print date: 28 November 2023
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
AL is supported by a scholarship from the Canadian Foundation Baxter and Alma Ricard. We want to thank an anonymous reviewer for their constructive and insightful comments which helped improve the manuscript greatly.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Keywords:
COVID-19, England, greenspace, survey, university students, Wellbeing
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 485407
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485407
ISSN: 2374-8834
PURE UUID: b138c2c3-a976-488c-8d75-3371257ee08b
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Date deposited: 06 Dec 2023 17:33
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:48
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Contributors
Author:
Anaïs Lemyre
Author:
Benjamin W. Chrisinger
Author:
Jane P. Messina
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