Green space and serious psychological distress among adults and teens: A population-based study in California

Pan Wang; Ying-Ying Meng; Vanessa Lam; Ninez Ponce

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.02.002

Green space and serious psychological distress among adults and teens: A population-based study in California

Health Place. 2019 Mar:56:184-190. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.02.002. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Authors

Pan Wang¹, Ying-Ying Meng², Vanessa Lam³, Ninez Ponce⁴

Affiliations

¹ Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Electronic address: panwang@ucla.edu.
² Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
³ Luskin School of Public Affairs, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
⁴ Center for Health Policy Research, University of California, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, USA.

PMID: 30797185
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.02.002

Abstract

There has been mounting evidence for the beneficial effect of green space on mental health among adults, but studies on the same topics are lacking for teens in the US. This study aimed to fill in this research gap by utilizing data from California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 2011-2014. A total of 81,102 households (composed of 4538 teens and 81,102 adults) were retained for main analyses. Surrounding greenness was assessed by the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) within varying buffers of home residence. Survey logistic regressions accounted for sampling weights and design were conducted to examine the effects of greenness on serious psychological distress (SPD), adjusted for major socio-demographic factors, neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES) and co-respondent's psychological distress level within the same household. An inter-quartile increment of NDVI in 350 m buffer predicted decreased odds of SPDs by 36% in teens (OR = 0.64, 95% CI = [0.46, 0.91]). Mediation analyses revealed that this association remained almost unchanged even after adjusting for social cohesion. The NDVI-SPD association of adults was found to be significant only in the older group (OR = 0.81, 95% CI = [0.68, 0.95]). This study is one of the first population-based US studies extending the epidemiological evidence for benefits of green space on mental health from adults to teens.

Keywords: Green space; Mental health; NDVI; Psychological distress; Teens.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
California
Female
Health Surveys
Humans
Male
Mental Health*
Parks, Recreational*
Poaceae
Population Health*
Psychological Distress*
Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data*
Social Class
Trees