Does time spent on visits to green space mediate the associations between the level of residential greenness and mental health?

Objective: The objective of the current study was to explore whether time spent visiting green space near home acts as a mediator in the association between level of residential greenness and perceived mental health. Methods: Questionnaire data and satellite data of residential greenness were gathered in four European cities (total n = 3748): Barcelona (SP), Doetinchem (NL), Kaunas (LT) and Stoke-on-Trent (UK). Results: Mediation analyses showed that time spent visiting green space near home was a weak, but statistically significant, mediator in the pooled data and in the Dutch sample only. Conclusions: The findings provide little support for the hypothesis that purposeful visits are a mediator linking indirectly greenness with mental health. More research is needed to explore other mediators related to different exposure pathways, such as visual exposure, and alternative mechanisms, such as (perceived) safety.