Nature- versus non-nature-based recreation: A comparative assessment of self-reported anxiety alleviation

Nature-based recreation delivers vital ecosystem services that shape human physical and psychological well-being, representing a core category of nature’s contributions to people within urban and peri -urban social-ecological landscapes. While non-nature-based recreational activities can also improve people’s quality of life by mitigating anxiety, the relative contributions of nature- and non-nature-based recreation to people’s mental health, and the factors that influence them, remain largely unknown. Here, we conducted a survey of 15,522 respondents across China and applied structural equation modeling to show that nature-based recreation is associated with significantly stronger self-reported anxiety alleviation than non-nature-based recreation. A longer time allocation to nature-based recreational activities during holidays and weekends was also associated with greater self-reported alleviation of anxiety from nature-based recreation. Furthermore, predictors including environmental pressure, anxiety-related attributes, and socioeconomic status were associated with the relative contributions of nature- and non-nature-based anxiety alleviation, with these associations partly mediated via recreation engagement. This empirical evidence improves integrated landscape and urban planning frameworks by providing context-specific guidance for sustainable urban recreational space design and cross-regional governance focused on public health.