Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42725703›Full record

Trial reportApplied psychology. Health and well-being2026

Nature-based meaning-focused photography intervention enhances subjective well-being: A three-arm randomized controlled study.

Yidi Chen, Yifei Zhang, Jinmeng Liu, Yiqun Gan

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Applied psychology. Health and well-being, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yidi ChenSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8517-1308
Yifei ZhangSchool of Humanities and Social Sciences, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.
Jinmeng LiuSchool of Sociology and Psychology, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2934-6334
Yiqun GanSchool of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences and Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9886-6862

Funding

Beijing Municipal Social Science Foundation 24JYC026
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gaining meaning from nature contact can promote subjective well-being. However, few studies have validated the effectiveness of nature-based meaning interventions in enhancing subjective well-being. This study consisted of a 7-day online intervention to examine the effects of nature-based meaning-focused photography on well-being by comparing a photo-only group, a photo + writing group, and a waiting list control group and how meaning in life mediates the relationship between nature contact and well-being. A pre-registered three-arm randomized controlled trial (groups: photo + writing group vs. photo-only group vs. control group) * (time: pre-test vs. post-test vs. 1-month follow-up) was conducted with 219 college students. In the photo + writing group, participants captured nature scenes and wrote 100-word reflections. The photo-only group only took nature photos. The primary outcomes were meaning in life and well-being, and the secondary outcome was life satisfaction. A conservative Bayesian causal forest analysis based on machine learning was used to detect both treatment and heterogeneous intervention effects. Compared with the control group, the photo + writing group showed positive effects on meaning in life, subjective well-being, and life satisfaction, with average treatment effects of 0.36, 0.27, and 0.66 standard deviations (SD), respectively. The photo-only group also showed generally positive effects on these outcomes, with average treatment effects of 0.27, 0.24, and 0.54 SD, respectively. However, these effects were not sustained after 1 month. The intervention was especially beneficial for participants from lower subjective socioeconomic status, with limited prior nature exposure, or lower baseline psychological well-being. Importantly, enhanced meaning in life helped explain how the intervention improved well-being and life satisfaction. This study also demonstrated that combining nature-based photography and reflective writing can improve well-being.

Indexed as

NaturePersonal SatisfactionPhotographyPsychological Well-BeingAdultFemaleHumansMaleWritingYoung Adultmachine learningmeaning in lifenature contactrandomized controlled trialsubjective well‐being

Identifiers

PMID42725703
PMCPMC13564100

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.