By Hugo Francisco de SouzaOct 22 2023Reviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc. In a recent study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers investigate the mental health effects of brief nature videos in adolescents.
The age of adolescence is debatable, with the World Health Organization defining adolescence as ages 10-19, whereas other researchers argue that it is 10-24. Nevertheless, adolescence is a critical period of cognitive, physiological, emotional, and social transitions, which, as a result, increases the risk of stress and emotional distress in this age group.
About the study In the present study, researchers explore NBIs as an alternative therapy that could alleviate mental health disorders through stress and mental fatigue reduction and restore emotional and cognitive functioning. Study participants were recruited through social media, university campus bulletins, and word of mouth. The final sample cohort comprised 75 adolescents between 18-25 years of age. After baseline screening, participants were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to either the nature video or urban video cohort.
Since nature spirituality is rarely cited in scientific literature, this study used four items from the Ecospirituality Scale combined with three bespoke items using the VAS scale. Reliability analyses of all measures in this study showed good or excellent reliability at the experiment's baseline and test phases.