Front Psychol. 2013 Nov 01;4:813. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00813. eCollection 2013.
Frontiers in psychology
Elizabeth K Nisbet, John M Zelenski
PMID: 24198806 PMCID: PMC3814587 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00813
The construct of (dis)connection with nature or "nature relatedness" has become increasingly useful in the study of environmental behavior as well as psychological health and well-being. Strong nature relatedness is associated with greater happiness and ecologically sustainable behavior. A number of scales reliably assess individual differences in nature relatedness, but some circumstances may necessitate a brief measure. We developed a short-form version of the nature relatedness scale (NR-6), comprised of 6 items from the "self" and "experience" dimensions, and tested the new scale's predictive ability across multiple samples and with longitudinal data in students, community members, and business people. The new NR-6 scale demonstrated good internal consistency, temporal stability, and predicted happiness, environmental concern, and nature contact. This new brief measure of connectedness may have advantages where time and space are limited and the research context requires an assessment of connectedness elements rather than environmental attitudes.
Keywords: environmental attitudes; happiness; nature relatedness; scale development; subjective well-being; sustainable behavior
