The Association between Green Space and Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being: A Systematic Review

Yijun Zhang, Suzanne Mavoa, Jinfeng Zhao, Deborah Raphael and Melody Smith
Additional contact information
Yijun Zhang: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Suzanne Mavoa: Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
Jinfeng Zhao: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Deborah Raphael: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
Melody Smith: School of Nursing, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-26

Abstract: This systematic review summarised and evaluated the evidence for associations between green space and adolescents’ mental well-being. The PRISMA statement guidelines were followed for reporting systematic reviews. Fourteen articles met the inclusion criteria for this review. Synthesis suggests beneficial associations between green space exposure and reduced stress, positive mood, less depressive symptoms, better emotional well-being, improved mental health and behaviour, and decreased psychological distress in adolescents. Several studies found the relationship varied by demographic and socio-economic factors. The limited number of studies and the risk of bias were the main limitations, together with heterogeneity regarding green space and mental well-being assessments. Overall, this review highlights the potential contribution of green space in schoolyards. Improving the availability, accessibility and quality of green space is likely to generate positive impacts on adolescents’ mental well-being. More consistent evidence on the use of different types of green space and perceptions of features are needed in the future.

Keywords: green space; mental well-being; adolescent; urban planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (20)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6640/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6640/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:18:p:6640-:d:412351

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().