%0 Journal Article
%T Associations of nature contact with emotional ill-being and well-being: the role of emotion regulation.
%A Bratman GN
%A Mehta A
%A Olvera-Alvarez H
%A Spink KM
%A Levy C
%A White MP
%A Kubzansky LD
%A Gross JJ
%J Cogn Emot
%V 38
%N 5
%D 2024 Aug 16
%M 38362747
%F 2.72
%R 10.1080/02699931.2024.2316199
%X Nature contact has associations with emotional ill-being and well-being. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations are not fully understood. We hypothesised that increased adaptive and decreased maladaptive emotion regulation strategies would be a pathway linking nature contact to ill-being and well-being. Using data from a survey of 600 U.S.-based adults administered online in 2022, we conducted structural equation modelling to test our hypotheses. We found that (1) frequency of nature contact was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, (2) effective emotion regulation was significantly associated with lesser emotional ill-being and greater emotional well-being, and (3) the associations of higher frequency of nature contact with these benefits were partly explained via emotion regulation. Moreover, we found a nonlinear relationship for the associations of duration of nature contact with some outcomes, with a rise in benefits up to certain amounts of time, and a levelling off after these points. These findings support and extend previous work that demonstrates that the associations of nature contact with emotional ill-being and well-being may be partly explained by changes in emotion regulation.