Nature deficit and mental health among adolescents: A perspectives of conservation of resources theory

With the rapid spread of modern urban construction and electronic technology, adolescents are increasingly deprived of direct contact with nature, suffering from a nature deficit. Nature deficit is a risk factor for mental health. Unfortunately, it is not clear how nature deficit is associated with adolescents' mental health and what the mechanism is. Nature deficit may change social (social capital) and personal resources (resilience), resulting in lasting damage to adolescents' mental health. Therefore, based on the conservation of resources theory, this paper intends to explore the correlation between nature deficit and adolescents' mental health, and the mediating role of social capital and resilience among them. A total of 688 adolescents (341 boys; mean age = 16.33, SD = 0.69, from 15 to 18 years old) were recruited and filled out the questionnaires: Adolescent Nature deficit Scale (ANDS), Social Capital Questionnaire for Adolescent Students (SCQ-AS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and Depression-Anxiety Subscale (DASS). The mediation analysis results revealed that social capital and resilience work in the correlation between nature deficit and anxiety, as well as between nature deficit and depression. Importantly, "social capital-resilience" plays a mediating chain role in the correlation between nature deficit and anxiety, as well as between nature deficit and depression. These findings reveal the underlying mechanism between nature deficit and adolescents' mental health, laying a theoretical foundation for improving the mental health level of nature deficit by improving their social capital and resilience.