Nature and well-being: The association of nature engagement and well-being during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

1. Numerous studies have shown the positive association between nature engagement and well-being. During the early phases of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, nature engagement changed dramatically as mental health and well-being declined across the globe.
2. This study examines how psychological connection to nature and engagement with nature in various forms is associated with well-being during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Specifically, we examine which types of nature engagement (i.e., with nearby nature, through nature excursions, and media-based) are more strongly associated with well-being based on measures of loneliness, rumination, pandemic emotional impact, and mental health.
3. We employed a cross-sectional online survey of adults (N=3,282) residing in the United States, 25% of whom report seldom spending time in nature.
4. Our findings revealed that the psychological construct of connection to nature was associated with less loneliness and greater mental health. Overall, nature engagement..., This study relied on a cross-sectional online survey that yielded a sample of 3,282 adults over 18 years of age, residing in the United States from two primary groups: (1) participants involved in public engagement programs through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (NGO), and (2) members of the public with varying degrees of nature engagement. A soft launch of the survey occurred on October 1, 2020, to 100 people from the national panel group, to ensure smooth administration. The final survey was administered online via Qualtrics to the national panel on October 6 and closed on October 24, 2020. For the NGO group, the survey was sent on October 12, 2020, with reminder emails 6 and 13 days later. The NGO survey was closed on November 5, 2020. The two surveys were identical except for a few additional questions posed to the NGO group about engagement in NGO-specific activities (see Appendix A for complete survey). All data were initially cleaned using Excel. All analyses were completed using..., Any program that can open a CSV file.Â