Exploring the relationship between connectedness to nature, wellness, and spiritual well-being

The evidence base for the psychological construct connectedness to nature is just beginning to grow. According to research generated in the health psychology, environmental psychology and wellness fields, there are physical and psychological benefits associated with greater connectedness to nature. There is also some speculation that connection to nature and spirituality may have a correlation. In this study I aimed to help better understand some of the potential relationships between connectedness to nature and wellness. I also attempted to understand if spiritual well-being mediated or partially mediated the potential relationship between connection to nature and wellness. I investigated these relationships using a mixture of graduate and undergraduate students. The findings suggest that there are some possible measurement problems with the construct and the instrument that was used to measure connectedness to nature. While there was no significant relationship found between an overall measure of wellness and connection to nature, there were some significant relationships between the discrete factors that comprise the wellness construct and connection to nature. These findings are useful in that they can help guide future research in the topic.