Nature exposure, satisfaction with life and loneliness: The mediating role of restorative experiences in nature

Abstract

Nature exposure has presented positive relationships with satisfaction with life and negative relationships with loneliness. Nonetheless, studies on the underlying mechanisms that may mediate these relationships are still limited. Nature restorativeness may be one such mediating variable. This paper reports on the role of nature restorativeness in the relationship between exposure to nature and two mental health outcomes — satisfaction with life and loneliness. The sample included 235 women and 113 men with an average age of 35 years (SD = 16.2 years). They answered scales to measure (1) nature exposure, (2) restorative outcomes, (3) satisfaction with life and (4) loneliness. Nature exposure was positively associated with restorative outcomes and satisfaction with life, and negatively associated with loneliness. Hierarchical regressions and mediation analyses showed that nature restorativeness significantly fully mediated the link between nature exposure and (1) satisfaction with life and (2) loneliness. The findings suggested that restorative experiences in nature are likely to be relevant aspects of people’s experience of nature, and positive mental health outcomes are related to them.