The feeling of connection to nature is a theme where there are a lot of definitions and ways to measure it. In this article, we will present some of them and show the benefits of this feeling.
The most recognized definition of the feeling of connection to nature is the one proposed by Mayer and Frantz (2004) in an article in which they present a scale to measure this feeling. They tell us that it refers to the “individual’s experiential sense of oneness with the natural world”.
The interest for the evaluation of the measure of our feeling of connection to nature starts from 1978 with the creation of a scale called the “new environmental paradigm” by Dunlap and Van Liere. They updated this scale in 2000. Its goal is to evaluate the beliefs of people about nature to assess their relation to it. However, this scale is criticized because it measures more the cognitive beliefs than the emotional experience.
Later, Schultz (2001) developed a scale named “inclusion of nature in self” to evaluate the relations of people with nature. He finds by himself some limitations of this scale in 2004. In fact, he says that the scale is based on a self-assessment while this feeling can be subconscious. He also tells us that we can’t measure the intern reliability of the test because there is only one item.
In 2004, the authors mentioned previously for the definition of the feeling of connection to nature developed the “connection to nature scale” to measure this feeling. It’s composed of fourteen items and people have to answer with a Likert scale. Moreover, the CNS fixes the limitations of the two previous scales. In fact, unlike the NEP, it makes it possible to have an emotional measure and unlike the INS, there are different items so we can measure its reliability.
The possibility to evaluate the feeling of connection to nature allows us to evaluate the impact that it could have on our lives. Many authors study it and the principal effect is on the well-being. More precisely, Nisebt and his colleagues (2010) has done three studies showing the effect of connection to nature on different sides of the well-being like the vitality, feeling of satisfaction, emotional experience, etc. Kamitsis and Francis (2013) confirm this results with a study using the CNS to measure connection to nature and a subscale of the WHOQOL-BREF to evaluate the psychological well-being. Ingulli and Lindbloom (2013) also showed that a high feeling of connection to nature is linked to the highest level of resilience. In psychology, resilience is “conceptualized as a combination of innate personality traits and environmental influences that serve to protect individuals from the harmful psychological effects of trauma or severe stress, enabling them to lead satisfying and productive lives” (Bogar & Hulse-Killacky, 2006).
Bibliography :
Bogar, C. B., & Hulse-Killacky, D. (2006). Resiliency Determinants and Resiliency Processes Among Female Adult Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse. Journal of Counseling & Development, 84(3), 318327. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6678.2006.tb00411.x
Dunlap, R. E., & Van Liere, K. D. (1978). The “New Environmental Paradigm”. The Journal of Environmental Education, 9(4), 1019. https://doi.org/10.1080/00958964.1978.10801875
Ingulli, K., & Lindbloom, G. (2013). Connection to Nature and Psychological Resilience. Ecopsychology, 5(1), 5255. https://doi.org/10.1089/eco.2012.0042
Kamitsis, I., & Francis, A. J. P. (2013). Spirituality mediates the relationship between engagement with nature and psychological wellbeing. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 36, 136143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2013.07.013
Mayer, F. S., & Frantz, C. M. (2004). The connectedness to nature scale : A measure of individuals’ feeling in community with nature. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 24(4), 503515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2004.10.001
Nisbet, E. K., Zelenski, J. M., & Murphy, S. A. (2011). Happiness is in our Nature : Exploring Nature Relatedness as a Contributor to Subjective Well-Being. Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(2), 303322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-010-9197-7
Schultz, P. W. (2002). Inclusion with Nature : The Psychology Of Human-Nature Relations. In P. Schmuck & W. P. Schultz (Éds.), Psychology of Sustainable Development (p. 6178). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0995-0_4