The greener the better? Does neighborhood greenness buffer the effects of stressful life events on externalizing behavior in late adolescence?
Publication date
2019-07-01
Authors
Weeland, J.
Laceulle, O.M.
Nederhof, Esther
Overbeek, Geertjan
Reijneveld, Seijmen A.
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Document Type
Article
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Abstract
We tested whether neighborhood greenness is a promotive and/or a protective factor in the development of adolescent externalizing behavior problems and explored a possible mechanism of its effects via respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) recovery after stress. Data from a longitudinal multi-method study on adolescents (N = 715) was used. Result showed that neighborhood greenness was neither a promotive nor a protective factor. However, adolescents who reported more stressful life events showed more externalizing behavior and –contrary to our expectation− this effect was stronger for adolescents who grew up in greener neighborhoods (vs. less green neighborhoods).
Keywords
Externalizing behavior, Mediation, Neighborhood greenness, RSA, Stressful life events, Health(social science), Sociology and Political Science, Life-span and Life-course Studies
Citation
Weeland, J, Laceulle, O M, Nederhof, E, Overbeek, G & Reijneveld, S A 2019, 'The greener the better? Does neighborhood greenness buffer the effects of stressful life events on externalizing behavior in late adolescence?', Health and Place, vol. 58, 102163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102163