A positive association between neighborhood greenness (vegetation) and mental health is well documented in the literature. Supporting research, however, focuses primarily on adults and children rather than adolescents. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between both greenness (vegetation) and blue space (water), and depressive symptoms among teenagers. Youth depression is of concern – not only because it impacts one in nine adolescents in the United States in a given year – but because depression in adolescence is associated with subsequent episodes in adulthood.
Participants for this study included a nation-wide sample of 9,385 youth, ages 12–18, living in the United States. The 1999 wave of the Growing Up Today Study provided information about the youth, including information about depressive symptoms. Greenness exposure was based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at a 250-meter and 1,250-meter radius around each youth's residence. The NDVI is an index of vegetative density commonly used in studies of nature-related health outcomes. Blue-space exposure was based on the presence of a body of water (river, lake, wetland, etc.) within the same radius around the youth's home address.
Findings indicated that youth living with more surrounding greenness were less likely to have high depressive symptoms. This association – while not statistically significant -- was stronger for middle school than high school students. The authors suggest that, particularly for older adolescents, the use of measures of greenness around the home may not capture the greenness of the environments adolescents spend time in. Proximity to blue spaces did not decrease the odds of high depressive symptoms. The positive relationship between surrounding greenness and reduced odds of depressive symptoms remained strong even after adjusting for other factors, including socioeconomic status. Additionally, this relationship remained consistent across 250- and 1,250-meter neighborhood definitions.
These findings support the importance of incorporating greenspaces into community planning and design. Residential development that incorporates vegetation may lessen the odds of depression in adolescents and lead to better mental health across the lifespan.
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