Study on the Impact of Residential Outdoor Environments on Mood in the Elderly in Guangzhou, China

Chongxian Chen, Weijing Luo, Ning Kang, Haiwei Li, Xiaohao Yang and Yu Xia
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Chongxian Chen: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Weijing Luo: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Ning Kang: School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, China
Haiwei Li: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiaohao Yang: School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA
Yu Xia: College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-18

Abstract: Understanding the relationship between mood and the environment among the elderly is important for the healthy aging agenda. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between residential outdoor environments of different qualities and mood in the elderly. Nine residential neighborhoods across three different quality levels of the outdoor environment in Guangzhou, China, were surveyed. Measures included demographic characteristics, assessment of the residential outdoor environment, and mood status of the elderly. We constructed a group of multiple regression models to investigate influencing environmental factors of participants’ mood. Results revealed that the environmental factors influencing mood in the elderly are different across the three types of residential outdoor environments: function and cleanliness of the site showed a significant correlation with mood in high-quality residences, while pavement was significantly correlated with mood in medium-quality residences. In contrast, transparency, enclosure, greenness, temperature, and humidity were significantly correlated with mood in poor-quality residences. To promote mental health in the elderly, we recommend that different qualities of residential outdoor environments should be considered individually rather than aggregated as simply “outdoor space.” The findings of this study are expected to contribute to create age-friendly communities for an aging society.

Keywords: mood; the elderly; residential outdoor environment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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