AUTHOR=Carrus Giuseppe , Scopelliti Massimiliano , Panno Angelo , Lafortezza Raffaele , Colangelo Giuseppe , Pirchio Sabine , Ferrini Francesco , Salbitano Fabio , Agrimi Mariagrazia , Portoghesi Luigi , Semenzato Paolo , Sanesi Giovanni 

TITLE=A Different Way to Stay in Touch with ‘Urban Nature’: The Perceived Restorative Qualities of Botanical Gardens

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00914

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00914

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>Botanical gardens represent interesting arenas for research in environmental psychology and environment-behavior relations. They can be considered a very particular type of restorative environment and also have a relevant social function for the promotion of a more sustainable lifestyle in current societies. In this paper, we present a study assessing the relationship between the perceived restorativeness, the psychological and physical benefits experienced, and the subjective well-being reported by visitors of botanical gardens in four different cities in Italy (<italic>N</italic> = 127). As expected, a bootstrapping mediation model supported the idea that perceived restorativeness of botanical gardens significantly predicts visitors’ subjective well-being, both directly and indirectly through perceived physical and psychological benefits of the visit. A moderation model also revealed that the relationship between restorativeness and well-being varies across respondents with different socio-demographic characteristics, being stronger for singles as compared to couples with and without children, respectively. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.</p>