Does socioeconomic position and gender affect human-nature interactions?

Abstract

Aim: The growing number of mental health problems worldwide is alarming. Encouraging human–nature interactions (HNIs) could help to tackle this issue. For this reason, the aim of the present research was to investigate certain components that promote HNI in two groups of students with different socioeconomic positions (SEPs) in Mexico. HNIs describe the direct relationship between humans and nature. HNIs are composed of elements such as connectedness to nature (CN) and commitment to the environment (CE), and are beneficial to both physical and mental health. However, the impact of CN and CE on people’s lives seems to depend on their SEP, which has been investigated mainly in developed countries where SEP is less salient compared with developing countries. Methods: A survey was sent to students from two universities representing each group. A total of 210 surveys was collected. Results: The results showed no differences in CN (p =.480) and CE (p =.421) regarding SEP. However, gender differences were found with females from a low SEP showing higher levels of CN than men (p =.015) from the same SEP. For high SEP, no differences were found. In addition, men showed a higher CE than women, regardless of their SEP. Conclusion: Given the high vulnerability of women to mental health problems, it is of major importance to conduct more research considering the relationship between gender, HNI, SEP, and health in developing countries.