A study from Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury, led by Dr. Lukáš Marek from the School of Earth and Environment, emphasizes the significance of the environment in shaping youth mental health. Dr. Marek stated, "The main message is that the environment actually matters," underscoring that better environments can lead to improved mental health outcomes, which may vary in meaning for different individuals.
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Published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology, the study analyzed data from over 957,000 young people aged 10 to 24 from 2013 to 2018. Utilizing the Healthy Location Index (HLI), researchers assessed mental health outcomes in relation to environmental features. The HLI incorporates ten aspects of both the built and natural environment, covering health-promoting elements like parks and supermarkets, as well as health-constraining factors such as fast-food outlets and alcohol stores.
Unlike prior studies that focused on individual environmental factors, this research took a comprehensive view. Dr. Marek explained that improving mental health requires a thorough understanding of the overall environment.
The findings indicate that young people's mental health is influenced by their surroundings, particularly access to green and blue spaces, which are linked to better mental health outcomes. Associate Professor Matt Hobbs noted a strong correlation between exposure to health-constraining environments and poorer mental health, especially emotional disorders. He remarked that areas with fewer health-constraining features appeared to correlate with lower rates of emotional issues, substance use, and self-harm hospitalizations.
He added that neighborhood design plays a critical role in shaping daily experiences and opportunities for youth. "Our findings suggest that creating healthier places is not just about changing individual behaviors but also about designing environments that facilitate healthy choices while minimizing exposure to negative influences," Hobbs said.
The expansive nature of the study allowed researchers to analyze how multiple environmental factors interact over time, potentially affecting mental health from adolescence into early adulthood. Dr. Marek highlighted that understanding the complexity of how individuals relate to natural spaces is crucial, noting it’s not sufficient to merely increase one type of space; accessibility and surrounding factors must be considered.
Adjusting for variables like deprivation and access to healthcare, the study confirmed the built and natural environment's vital role in mental health. Dr. Marek stated that these findings could inform more localized planning decisions and form a baseline for future research.
This investigation was part of a Cure Kids-funded initiative that assessed whether the environments young people grow up in promote or hinder mental health, involving researchers from UC, the University of Otago, and the University of Auckland.