The Effects of an Urban Forest Health Intervention Program on Physical Activity, Substance Abuse, Psychosomatic Symptoms, and Life Satisfaction among Adolescents

Riki Tesler, Pnina Plaut and Ronit Endvelt
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Riki Tesler: Department of Health System Management, Faculty of Health Science, Ariel University, Ariel 407000, Israel
Pnina Plaut: Faculty of Architecture and Town Planning, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 3200003, Israel
Ronit Endvelt: School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa 3498838, Israel

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: Background : At-risk adolescents have been defined as youth who are or might be in physical, mental, or emotional danger. An Urban Forest Health Intervention Program (UFHIP) was formed at a center for at-risk adolescents in Israel, in order to promote physical activity and reduce risky behavior. Objective : To evaluate the intervention’s effect on physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, psychosomatic symptoms, and life satisfaction. Methods : From 2015 to 2016, at-risk youth were nonrandomly selected to participate in the UFHIP. Questionnaires were administered to both intervention and control groups before and after the intervention. Univariate and multivariable analyses evaluated the intervention’s effect. Results : The study participants ( n = 53) showed 0.81 more sessions per week of 60 min of physical activity than did the control group ( n = 23; p = 0.003). Among the intervention group, smoking frequency reduced from a mean of 2.60 (SD = 1.30) to 1.72 (SD = 1.08), whereas that in the control group increased from 3.17 (1.03) to 3.39 (1.03). In both groups, there was a reduction in alcohol consumption, with a greater change among intervention participants: −1.08 (SD = 1.30), compared with −0.09 (SD = 1.79) in the control group. Conclusions : Findings indicate that the environmental intervention was efficacious in increasing physical activity and reducing risky behaviors among youth. The effectiveness of this intervention among larger samples is warranted in future prospective studies.

Keywords: urban forest; at-risk youth; risky behavior; physical activity; intervention; psychosomatic symptoms; life satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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