Does Nature-based Travel Promote Traveler’s Happiness in COVID-19?:A focus on Risk Perception, Attention Restoration Theory and Subjective Well-being

Abstract To compile the findings of studies assessing emotional and behavioral changes in the survivors of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, we performed a systematic review in August 2019 using four literature databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and ICHUSHI). Peer-reviewed manuscripts, either in English or Japanese, were included in the searches. Sixty-one studies were retrieved for the review. Of these, 41 studies (67.2%) assessed emotional consequences, 28 studies (45.9%) evaluated behavioral consequences, and 8 studies (13.1%) evaluated both emotional and behavioral outcomes. The main research topic in emotional change was radiation exposure-associated risk perception, as reported in 15 studies. This risk perception included immediate health effects (eg, acute radiation syndrome) as well as future health effects (eg, future cancer and genetic effects). Lowered subjective well-being was reported in eight studies. Six studies reported perceived discrimination/stigmatization in the disaster survivors. The most critical behavioral change was an increase in suicides compared with residents in the whole of Japan or affected by the earthquake and tsunami, but not by the nuclear disaster. Increased rate of alcohol and tobacco use was reported, although the effect on one’s health was inconsistent. As a conclusion, the Fukushima nuclear disaster survivors suffered issues in risk perception, well-being, stigmatization, and alcohol/tobacco use in the first 8 years after the disaster. The present study is important in order to better understand the emotional and behavioral responses to future nuclear/radiological disasters as well as other “invisible” disasters, such as chemical and biological public health crises.

Download Full-text

NATURAL RETREATS AND HUMAN WELL-BEING: READING THE SONG OF SONGS THROUGH THE LENS OF ATTENTION RESTORATION THEORY

Scriptura ◽

10.7833/115-0-1286 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 115 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Hendrik Viviers

Keyword(s):

Well Being ◽

Song Of Songs ◽

Attention Restoration Theory ◽

Attention Restoration

Download Full-text

GARDENS AS “PARTNERS” IN CONTEMPLATION: READING THE STORIES OF THE FIRST EDEN (GENESIS 2–3) AND A RESTORED EDEN (SONG OF SONGS) THROUGH THE LENS OF ATTENTION RESTORATION THEORY

Journal for Semitics ◽

10.25159/1013-8471/2542 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 347-370

Author(s):

Hendrik Viviers

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Active Agent ◽

Well Being ◽

Song Of Songs ◽

Desiderius Erasmus ◽

Attention Restoration Theory ◽

Isaac Newton ◽

Attention Restoration ◽

The Past ◽

The One

It is well known that gardens have always been inspiring for great thinkers of the past, for instance Greek and Roman philosophers, Confucian thinkers, Desiderius Erasmus, Isaac Newton and Arnold Toynbee, to name but a few. Why is this so? Attention Restoration Theory, developed by environmental psychologists Stephen and Rachel Kaplan, explains how both wild (e.g., reserves) and cultivated nature (e.g., parks, gardens) can assist in replenishing our cognitive and emotional coping capacities, and uplift us. Nature is not only a setting but an active agent/“partner” in sustaining human well-being, inter alia when contemplating or reflecting on the meaning of life. In order to achieve this the human/nature relationship needs to meet the properties of “being away”, “compatibility”, “‘soft’ fascination” and “extent”. Shining the light of these insights on two “Edens” in the Old Testament, the one lost (Gen 2–3) and the other revived (Song of Songs), nature’s role in evoking contemplation especially, whether on human fate or human delight, will be highlighted.

Download Full-text

Interaction with the Plant World as a Source of Positive Human Functioning

Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy ◽

10.17759/cpp.2020280209 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 151-169

Author(s):

S.K. Nartova-Bochaver ◽

E.A. Mukhortova ◽

B.D. Irkhin

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Abilities ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Effective Means ◽

Well Being ◽

Risk Groups ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Attention Restoration Theory ◽

Attention Restoration ◽

Human Functioning ◽

Somatic Diseases

The present review examines the restorative potential of interaction with flora for the physical and mental health of a person and their psychological well-being. The plant world is a particular part of nature, characterized by responsiveness, aesthetic appeal, and unobtrusiveness. These features make plants an effective means of restoring cognitive abilities, emotional state, as well as developing personal and behavioral effectiveness. At the same time, it is noted that, due to the phenomenon of plant blindness, their recovery resource is not used enough. The types of eco-therapy are analyzed; theories explaining the mechanisms of plants’ influence on the people’s psyche (biophilia hypothesis, attention restoration theory, stress recovery/reduction theory, and phyto-resonance) are presented. We review the results of studies proving the beneficial effect of interactions with the plant world (gardening, walking in the forest and park, simulation of the natural environment) on physical health and recovery from somatic diseases, on attention, creativity, behavior, and social functioning of a person. The effectiveness of interaction with flora is also noteworthy in the case of working with particular groups of people (adolescents from risk groups, offenders, and psychiatric patients). We analyze the limitations of studies, mainly related to their design.

Download Full-text

Conflict Avoidance in Old Age

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000168 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 61-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Lia Oberhauser ◽

Andreas B. Neubauer ◽

Eva-Marie Kessler

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Perceived Social Support ◽

Well Being ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Conflict Avoidance ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Adult Lifespan ◽

Set Up

Abstract. Conflict avoidance increases across the adult lifespan. This cross-sectional study looks at conflict avoidance as part of a mechanism to regulate belongingness needs ( Sheldon, 2011 ). We assumed that older adults perceive more threats to their belongingness when they contemplate their future, and that they preventively react with avoidance coping. We set up a model predicting conflict avoidance that included perceptions of future nonbelonging, termed anticipated loneliness, and other predictors including sociodemographics, indicators of subjective well-being and perceived social support (N = 331, aged 40–87). Anticipated loneliness predicted conflict avoidance above all other predictors and partially mediated the age-association of conflict avoidance. Results suggest that belongingness regulation accounts may deepen our understanding of conflict avoidance in the second half of life.

Download Full-text

Leisure Activities and the Subjective Well-Being of Older Adults in Croatia

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000179 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

pp. 31-39 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ljiljana Kaliterna Lipovčan ◽

Tihana Brkljačić ◽

Zvjezdana Prizmić Larsen ◽

Andreja Brajša-Žganec ◽

Renata Franc

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Leisure Activities ◽

Leisure Activity ◽

Later Life ◽

Perceived Health ◽

Well Being ◽

Hierarchical Regression ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Convenience Sample ◽

Financial Status

Abstract. Research shows that engagement in leisure activities promotes well-being among older adults. The objective of the current study was to examine the relationship between subjective well-being (flourishing) and leisure activities (total number of different activities in the previous year) in a sample of older adults in Croatia, thereby considering the variables of sex, marital status, financial status, and self-perceived health. The differences in the examined variables between the groups of older adults who reported to be engaged in new activities with those who did not were also examined. The sample of N = 169 older adults aged 60 years and above was drawn from a convenience sample of adult internet users in Croatia. Participants reported their self-perceived health and the number of leisure activities they engaged in over the previous year as well as completing the Flourishing Scale. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that older adults who were engaged in more various leisure activities, who perceived better financial status, and who were married reported higher levels of flourishing. A comparison of the two groups of older adults with and without engagement in leisure activities showed that those engaged in at least one leisure activity were more likely to be women, reported higher levels of flourishing, and perceived their own financial status as better. This study indicated that engaging in leisure activities in later life might provide beneficial effects for the well-being of older adults.

Download Full-text

Intraindividual Variability and Stability of Affect and Well-Being

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000094 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 185-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Christina Röcke ◽

Annette Brose

Keyword(s):

Age Differences ◽

Well Being ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Emotional Experiences ◽

Short Term ◽

Regulatory Processes ◽

Functional Implications ◽

Methodological Approaches ◽

Underlying Processes

Whereas subjective well-being remains relatively stable across adulthood, emotional experiences show remarkable short-term variability, with younger and older adults differing in both amount and correlates. Repeatedly assessed affect data captures both the dynamics and stability as well as stabilization that may indicate emotion-regulatory processes. The article reviews (1) research approaches to intraindividual affect variability, (2) functional implications of affect variability, and (3) age differences in affect variability. Based on this review, we discuss how the broader literature on emotional aging can be better integrated with theories and concepts of intraindividual affect variability by using appropriate methodological approaches. Finally, we show how a better understanding of affect variability and its underlying processes could contribute to the long-term stabilization of well-being in old age.

Download Full-text