Self-reported Participation in Outdoor and Nature-based Recreation Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Supports Psychological Health and Well-being

Overview

Journal Wellbeing Space Soc

Date 2022 Jul 25

PMID 35874123

Authors

Justin M Beall

S Brent Jackson

William R Casola

M Nils Peterson

Lincoln R Larson

Kathryn T Stevenson

Erin Seekamp

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered daily lives and affected human health and well-being. Outdoor and nature-based activities could potentially mitigate some of these negative impacts. To assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on outdoor recreation and subjective well-being, we combined two samples of U.S. adults collected from April 30 - June 15, 2020 and from August 7 - August 26, 2020 (total n = 2178) using Qualtrics XM. During the pandemic, participation in outdoor activities declined by 35%, participation in nature-based activities declined by 33%, and subjective well-being declined by 24%. Participation in outdoor activities and nature activities prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic predicted smaller declines in subjective well-being. Results highlight the importance of outdoor recreation for building resilience to changes in subjective well-being before and during global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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