SynthesisConservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology2020
Meta-analysis of human connection to nature and proenvironmental behavior.
Synthesis in Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 97 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
97 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness of nature-based interventions on mental health: A systematic review.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Pooled it
- A meta-analysis of the effect of visiting zoos and aquariums on visitors' conservation knowledge, beliefs, and behavior.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2025Pooled it
- Pro-environmental behavior, personality and emotional intelligence in adolescents: a systematic review.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Pooled it
- Meta-analysis of landowner participation in voluntary incentive programs for provision of forest ecosystem services.Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology · 2022Pooled it
- Trial
- Linking Career Calling Profiles to Ecological Considerations in Vocational Behaviors, Ecological Worries and Nature Connectedness.Journal of career assessment · 2026Article
- Nature contact and adolescent paper-reuse behavior: place attachment versus climate anxiety in a two-wave study of Chinese adolescents.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Valuing ecological benefits in ecological restoration of abandoned railways based on social media analytics.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Predicting pro-environmental behavioral intention using interpretable machine learning.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Nature connection and adolescents' pro-environmental behavior: an analysis based on chain mediation.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Nature Relatedness as an Orientation in Moral Psychology.Integrative psychological & behavioral science · 2026Article
- Circles of Connection: Visualizing Human-Nature-Animal Bonds Through Participatory Art in Wildlife Tourism.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Pawsitive impact: exploring associations between pet keeping and connection to nature.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Article
- Protecting nature in diverse ways: The socio-demographic spread of benefits from connecting with nature.Ambio · 2026Article
- Climate emotions and climate justice: exploring the role of affective engagement and existential experience in sport for development and peace.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Ethics and action pathways for psychologists in a time of climate crisis.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- Private garden uses and associated mental well-being benefits during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown - a social media investigation.PloS one · 2026Article
- Nature connectedness framework for adolescents: an integrative review.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Review
- The role of nature relatedness on environmental ethics awareness and environmental behavior among young adults: a moderated mediation model of environmental organization membership.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
37 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding what drives environmentally protective or destructive behavior is important to the design and implementation of effective public policies to encourage people's engagement in proenvironmental behavior (PEB). Research shows that a connection to nature is associated with greater engagement in PEB. However, the variety of instruments and methods used in these studies poses a major barrier to integrating research findings. We conducted a meta-analysis of the relationship between connection to nature and PEB. We identified studies through a systematic review of the literature and used Comprehensive Meta-Analysis software to analyze the results from 37 samples (n = 13,237) and to test for moderators. A random-effects model demonstrated a positive and significant association between connection to nature and PEB (r = 0.42, 95% CI 0.36, 0.47, p < 0.001). People who are more connected to nature reported greater engagement in PEB. Standard tests indicated little effect of publication bias in the sample. There was significant heterogeneity among the samples. Univariate categorical analyses showed that the scales used to measure connection to nature and PEB were significant moderators and explained the majority of the between-study variance. The geographic location of a study, age of participants, and the percentage of females in a study were not significant moderators. We found that a deeper connection to nature may partially explain why some people behave more proenvironmentally than others and that the relationship is ubiquitous. Facilitating a stronger connection to nature may result in greater engagement in PEB and conservation, although more longitudinal studies with randomized experiments are required to demonstrate causation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.