Connection to Nature Data
Description
This data file contains demographic information along with established scale scores of 515 both allotment and non-allotment owners to explore their time in nature and the impacts of this on mental health. Also, questions were asked around time and activities in nature. The age range was between 18-85 years old. The data had approval from the psychology research ethics committee. Before data collection began, full informed consent was obtained from participants as well as information sheets provided to them and all participants were fully debriefed afterwards. Identifying information was removed to ensure confidentiality and anonymity. The scores for the scales on mental health (Clarke et al, 2011; NHS health scotland,2008), self-esteem (Robins, Hendin & Trzesniewski, 2001), physical health (DeSalvo et al, 2006), connection to nature (Nisbet, & Zelenski,2013), social identity (Sani, Madhok, Norbury, Dugard & Wakefield, 2014), loneliness (De Jong Gierveld & Van Tilburg, 2006), social support (Van Dick & Haslam, 2012) and self- efficacy (Tambs, & Røysamb, 2014) are included.
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Steps to reproduce
The participants consisted of an opportunity sample of individuals who owned or worked on allotments and a sample of participants who did not spend much time in nature or work on an allotment. The procedure involved an online survey. When working with an online sample, the online survey ethics had to be adapted slightly. For the informed consent, consent was recorded by ticking a box and unable to proceed unless the box had been ticked. Participants were also reminded of their right to withdraw and also presented with a debrief form each participant had to read before their response would be recorded. Each participant was told they would be taking part in a survey looking at time spent in nature and its effects on mental wellbeing. The participants were given the information sheet and informed consent form. They were then presented with the demographic and individual questions. After they had completed these, they were presented with the main part of the survey consisting of scales on: physical health, mental health, self-esteem, connection to nature and social support. Standardised instructions were used for the scales. The participants were then thanked and debriefed. Contact details of organisations, including groups such as Mind and rethink, were also listed in case the participant wished to seek support if any part of the survey had concerned them. The materials included a set of scales used to measure: mental health, social support, self-esteem, physical health and connection to nature. Demographic and individual questions were also added to the survey. These questions involved asking their age, gender, nationality, hours spent in nature per week, whether they owned and allotment and if they did, asking if they took part in a community project or group at the allotments. Also a question was added asking what activities participants regularly took part in, for this gardening and allotment work were both grouped under gardening activities for clarity during analysis. The survey was piloted before the main data collection to ensure reliability.