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. 2014 Mar 21;11(3):3453-72.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph110303453.

Exposure to neighborhood green space and mental health: evidence from the survey of the health of Wisconsin

Kirsten M M Beyer  1 , Andrea Kaltenbach  2 , Aniko Szabo  3 , Sandra Bogar  4 , F Javier Nieto  5 , Kristen M Malecki  6
Affiliations

Exposure to neighborhood green space and mental health: evidence from the survey of the health of Wisconsin

Kirsten M M Beyer et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Green space is now widely viewed as a health-promoting characteristic of residential environments, and has been linked to mental health benefits such as recovery from mental fatigue and reduced stress, particularly through experimental work in environmental psychology. Few population level studies have examined the relationships between green space and mental health. Further, few studies have considered the role of green space in non-urban settings. This study contributes a population-level perspective from the United States to examine the relationship between environmental green space and mental health outcomes in a study area that includes a spectrum of urban to rural environments. Multivariate survey regression analyses examine the association between green space and mental health using the unique, population-based Survey of the Health of Wisconsin database. Analyses were adjusted for length of residence in the neighborhood to reduce the impact of neighborhood selection bias. Higher levels of neighborhood green space were associated with significantly lower levels of symptomology for depression, anxiety and stress, after controlling for a wide range of confounding factors. Results suggest that "greening" could be a potential population mental health improvement strategy in the United States.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and SHOW Block Groups, Wisconsin, 2009.
Figure 2
Figure 2
2001 Proportion Tree Canopy and SHOW Block Groups.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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