Abstract
What role might the natural environment play in resilience? Remarkably, there has been little connection between the nature-health research and resilience research and theory. In this chapter, I first suggest that nature ought to figure more centrally within human resilience literature and frameworks. This chapter aims to bridge the divide between literatures by considering the evidence that nature may be a resilience factor that can moderate the impact of risk or adversity on health and functioning. Second, I argue that due to a preoccupation with the direct effects of nature on health, the role of the natural environment as a moderator of the relation between risk factors or adversity and health outcomes is under-appreciated and under-explored. Acting as a moderator or buffer, nearby nature or green space may have the potential to attenuate the relation between risk and health, to dampen negative health outcomes among vulnerable populations and ultimately, thereby, to reduce health disparities. Four outcomes are examined: mental health, physical health, birth weight, and academic achievement. For each of these outcomes, I consider: the impact of risk and adversity, including poverty; evidence of nature’s moderating effect; and plausible explanatory pathways (i.e., mediated moderation), with a focus on executive functioning and social connection. I then briefly consider access to nature as an environmental justice issue. Is it the case that while nature may have the potential to mitigate health disparities, those most in need have the least access? I close with implications for future research.
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Notes
- 1.
Allostatic load refers to the “price the body pays for being forced to adapt to adverse psychosocial or physical situations, and it represents either the presence of too much stress or the inefficient operation of the stress hormone response system, which must be turned on and then turned off again after the stressful situation is over” (McEwen, 2000, pp. 110–111).
- 2.
Collective efficacy refers to “social cohesion among neighbors along with their willingness to intervene on behavior of the common good” (Sampson, Raudenbush, & Earls, 1997).
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Thanks to Gary Evans for feedback on an early draft of this chapter. Thanks also to Bill Xu, Bunmi Osias, and Micah Baclig for assistance with literature review, reference management, and graphics.
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Wells, N.M. (2021). The Natural Environment as a Resilience Factor: Nature’s Role as a Buffer of the Effects of Risk and Adversity. In: Schutte, A.R., Torquati, J.C., Stevens, J.R. (eds) Nature and Psychology. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, vol 67. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-69020-5_7
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