Greenspace exposure and parental mental well-being: environmental-behavioral mechanisms stratified by gender and health status
Dengkai Huang, Jianchao Li, Fang He, Song Zhao, Can Jiao
Abstract
Parenthood increases vulnerability to mental disorders, impacting not only parental wellbeing but also child development. While extensive evidence supports the psychological benefits of greenspace exposure, the differential impacts of distinct greenspace characteristics across population subgroups remain overlooked. Using survey data from 2921 parents and 2731 children in Shenzhen, China, combined with street-view images and remote sensing data, we examined associations between greenspace exposure (i.e. quantity, morphology and satisfaction) and parental mental wellbeing (i.e. general mental health, depression and anxiety). We employed serial structural equation modelling with stratified analyses to investigate environmental (e.g., air pollution) and behavioral pathways (e.g., physical activity, relationship satisfaction, work-related stress and fatigue), incorporating children's mental health as a distal mediator. Results revealed that greenspace satisfaction exerted stronger direct and indirect effects on parental mental wellbeing than quantity or morphology measures, a pattern consistent across health outcomes and subgroups. All five proximal mediators significantly linked greenspace satisfaction to mental wellbeing. Stratified analyses revealed significant disparities: mothers exhibited more complex pathways than fathers, particularly through work-related stress and children's mental health. Parents with higher-baseline mental health showed more numerous associations than their lower-baseline counterparts. Children's mental wellbeing consistently mediated the greenspace-parental wellbeing relationship, except among more anxious parents. Pathways connecting greenspace exposure to depression and anxiety varied significantly. These findings establish greenspace satisfaction as the primary predictor of parental mental health, with effects varying by gender and health status. The results advocate for targeted urban interventions that optimize greenspace quality to support vulnerable parental subgroups.