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Striving with Global Stress on a Local Level : Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed the Relationship between People and Nature?

Gunko, Ruslan ; Rapeli, Lauri and Karell, Patrik LU (2022) In Sustainability (Switzerland) 14(15).
Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic had harsh consequences on human health and society across the globe. In addition to health effects, the pandemic also influenced people’s values, concerns, and ethics due to lockdowns and general limitations in societal activities. In this study, we examined changes in the relationship between people and nature caused by COVID-associated stress, as well as its consequences on life quality, by comparing questionnaire-based survey data before and during the pandemic. We found that the pandemic had positive effects on individual respondents’ relationships with nature. Respondents who were more affected by the pandemic rated their life quality lower than those who were less affected. In accordance, the pandemic had a... (More)

The COVID-19 pandemic had harsh consequences on human health and society across the globe. In addition to health effects, the pandemic also influenced people’s values, concerns, and ethics due to lockdowns and general limitations in societal activities. In this study, we examined changes in the relationship between people and nature caused by COVID-associated stress, as well as its consequences on life quality, by comparing questionnaire-based survey data before and during the pandemic. We found that the pandemic had positive effects on individual respondents’ relationships with nature. Respondents who were more affected by the pandemic rated their life quality lower than those who were less affected. In accordance, the pandemic had a negative effect on people’s life quality, especially for people living in areas where the environment (coastal water quality) was in poor condition. Our results support the prediction that environmental quality may buffer against global stress and improve societal wellbeing.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
COVID-19, eutrophication, human–nature relationships, wellbeing
in
Sustainability (Switzerland)
volume
14
issue
15
article number
9496
publisher
MDPI AG
external identifiers
  • scopus:85136915567
ISSN
2071-1050
DOI
10.3390/su14159496
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
caed8398-cbcb-4a63-9a81-5b39865944bd
date added to LUP
2022-11-08 09:45:25
date last changed
2024-05-02 08:23:28
@article{caed8398-cbcb-4a63-9a81-5b39865944bd,
  abstract     = {{<p>The COVID-19 pandemic had harsh consequences on human health and society across the globe. In addition to health effects, the pandemic also influenced people’s values, concerns, and ethics due to lockdowns and general limitations in societal activities. In this study, we examined changes in the relationship between people and nature caused by COVID-associated stress, as well as its consequences on life quality, by comparing questionnaire-based survey data before and during the pandemic. We found that the pandemic had positive effects on individual respondents’ relationships with nature. Respondents who were more affected by the pandemic rated their life quality lower than those who were less affected. In accordance, the pandemic had a negative effect on people’s life quality, especially for people living in areas where the environment (coastal water quality) was in poor condition. Our results support the prediction that environmental quality may buffer against global stress and improve societal wellbeing.</p>}},
  author       = {{Gunko, Ruslan and Rapeli, Lauri and Karell, Patrik}},
  issn         = {{2071-1050}},
  keywords     = {{COVID-19; eutrophication; human–nature relationships; wellbeing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{15}},
  publisher    = {{MDPI AG}},
  series       = {{Sustainability (Switzerland)}},
  title        = {{Striving with Global Stress on a Local Level : Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Changed the Relationship between People and Nature?}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su14159496}},
  doi          = {{10.3390/su14159496}},
  volume       = {{14}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}