Connectedness to nature and its relationship to meaning in life

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between connectedness to nature and meaning in life. Connectedness to nature is a construct that arises from the theory of biophilia, which espouses that humans have an innate desire for closeness with nature. Meaning in life is one of many factors that make up psychological well-being. The concept stems from a long spiritual, philosophical, and psychological tradition in which humans have endeavored to understand and define what makes life meaningful. A review of this literature established a foundation from which to examine the relationship between connectedness to nature and meaning in life. It has been previously hypothesized that this relationship exists, but had not yet been investigated empirically.;This study employed a quantitative method. Participants were asked to respond to a series of demographic questions followed by two questionnaires: the Meaning in Life Questionnaire and the Nature Relatedness Scale. Participants also wrote about a time that they had spent in nature. One hundred and eighty seven adults aged 18 to 83 participated in the study online.;Several significant findings were discovered here. Most importantly, a significant positive relationship was found between connectedness to nature and meaning in life. Further, connectedness to nature significantly predicted the variability in meaning in life as well. Interestingly, it was discovered that as individuals increase in age, their search for meaning in life decreases. At the same time, women had a greater sense of meaning in life than did men. Finally, those in excellent health alleged greater connectedness to nature than did those in good health.;In the discussion, the results were revisited within the context of the literature reviewed. This study found supporting evidence for researchers who had proposed that connectedness to nature might be one variable that influences meaning in life. Furthermore, the findings related to age were discussed relative to developmental theory while the gender findings were examined with reference to current relational and feminist models of thinking. Overall, this study offers critical support to arguments for the protection of nature. Specifically, the current research demonstrates that feeling connected to nature can increase one's sense of well-being. This finding has important implications for psychological and physical health interventions, as well as for environmental policy.