Urban biodiversity and adolescent mental health and well-being

Abstract

Biodiversity may play a role in the mental health and well-being of people living in urban areas, but there is limited research on this. We investigated the association between proximity to Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and mental health and well-being in 10- to 15-year-old adolescents living in London. SINCs are a key component of London's biodiversity and designated for their importance for the local habitat. We hypothesised that close proximity to a SINC (i.e., living within 1000 m from a SINC) would be a proxy for good access to it, which, in turn, would be associated with lower levels of mental health problems, and higher levels of self-esteem and happiness. In linear regression models, adjusted for individual and neighbourhood confounders, we did not find evidence to support our hypothesis. We discuss possible explanations for our null findings (e.g., definitions of biodiversity and access, and low statistical power) and highlight that, from our findings, we cannot infer that there is no association and that further research is needed.