Accessibility to urban parks and resilience among adults in Spain: gender inequalities from the DESVELA study

While associations between greenness and mental health have been studied, resilience, understood as the ability to adapt positively to stress and adversity, has received less attention. This study examined the relationship between the distance to the nearest park and resilience, considering potential gender differences. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,852 Spanish adults assigned to Primary Healthcare centers of nine autonomous communities. Resilience was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Unadjusted and adjusted differences in resilience and distance to the nearest park were assessed using Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Covariance, and multiple linear regression models in the total sample and stratified by sex. The covariates considered in this study were age, education, monthly income, marital status, perceived social support, and mental health. Sex was included as a covariate in analyses of the total sample. This study finally comprised 2,922 individuals, 52.0% women. The mean age of the participants was 53.6 years ± 10.9 SD. Participants living farther from parks (> 700 m) showed significantly lower resilience than those in the close (< 300 m; mean difference = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.06, 1.11, p = 0.028) and medium (300 m-700 m; mean difference = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.28, 1.35, p = 0.003) subgroups. Greater distance to the nearest park was inversely associated with resilience in the total sample (β = -0.040, 95% CI: -0.075, -0.003, p = 0.030). Stratified analyses revealed this association was significant among men (β = -0.060, 95% CI: -0.110, -0.009, p = 0.020), but not among women (β = -0.018, 95% CI: -0.068, 0.030, p = 0.463). Greater residential distance to the nearest park was associated with lower resilience in adults, especially in men. These findings highlight the potential importance of urban green space accessibility for promoting mental well-being, underscoring the need to consider gender in public health research and interventions.