Evaluating the Relationship Between Mental Health and Outdoor Exposure During the COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdowns Across Urban and Rural Communities

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

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Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/q811kk99m

Abstract

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns began in March 2020 and brought on a slew of physical and mental health issues. Before the pandemic began, studies were associating outdoor/natural exposure with an improvement in mental health. A survey was deployed that asked participants how their mental health, coping mechanisms, and outdoor exposure habits changed once the pandemic began, with a focus on if nature’s presumed beneficial influence was different between urban and rural communities. The findings show that depression and anxiety, as well as the emotions associated with those psychosocial disorders, did worsen once the lockdowns began with higher averages coming from participants in urban areas. It is also concluded that urban residents reported their outdoor exposure was more beneficial to their mental health than rural residents. Ultimately, this research could be used as a guideline for government officials, therapists, architects, and many more, to think about when planning ways to improve mental health.

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