Beating the blues by viewing Green: Depressive symptoms predict greater restoration from stress and negative affect after viewing a nature video

Abstract

Prior research has shown that viewing natural scenery can improve mood and reduce stress. The present study examined whether these benefits are moderated by depressive symptoms, which theoretically may either reduce or enhance restorative effects of viewing nature. To test these competing hypotheses, we conducted two experiments with participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms (N = 57 in Study 1 and N = 200 in Study 2). After viewing a stressful video, participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions, in which they watched a video of a walk in either a (1) natural, or (2) built environment. Experienced stress and mood (positive and negative) were assessed at the start of the experimental session, after the stress induction, and after watching the environment video. In both experiments, participants with more (rather than less) depressive symptoms displayed more stress reduction after viewing nature rather than built settings. Viewing nature (vs. built settings) only increased reduction of negative affect for participants with more (rather than less) depressive symptoms in Study 2. No significant differences emerged for positive affect. These findings suggest that nature-based interventions may be especially beneficial among people suffering from depressive symptoms.