A walk through the garden: can a visit to a botanic garden reduce stress?
Open accessAbstract
Stress has been characterized as an epidemic and has been found to play an important role in causing many diseases. In contrast, people often seek out nature and green spaces to help cope with life stress. Botanic gardens provide opportunities for people to immerse in nature, explore their horticultural interests, and experience recreation and leisure. The literature suggests that all of these activities are effective coping strategies against life stress. This study explored the effectiveness of botanic garden visits as a coping strategy. The findings of this study suggest that botanic gardens could be a place for coping with the effects of stress. Botanic garden visitation, along with gender, stressful life events, perceived health, and selfesteem, was found to be important in explaining reported levels of depression. Data also showed that visitors who received the most benefit of stress reduction were those most needing a coping strategy.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Papers that reported impact on general well-being also included outcome measures that indicated increased physical activity resulting in reduced body mass index and healthier blood glucose levels, and general well-being that benefited community growth, social interaction and quality of life.
“Thus, papers that reported impact on general well-being also included outcome measures that indicated increased physical activity resulting in reduced body mass index43 and healthier blood glucose levels,43 and general well-being that benefited community growth,66 social interaction62 68 and quality of life.44 66 76”
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image
Rosenberg, M. (1965) · doi:10.1515/9781400876136 · Cited by 30,126 · see citing works
The sociological study of stress
Pearlin, L. I. (1989) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136956 · Cited by 3,263 · cited 8× · see citing works
“The stress process is a model with four main components: individual factors, stressors, mediators (or coping strategies), and outcomes (Aneshensel, 1992; Pearlin, 1989).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialMorse, J. M. (2000) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/104973200129118183 · Cited by 3,244 · see citing works
Positive Events and Social Supports as Buffers of Life Change Stress <sup>1</sup>
Cohen, S., & Hoberman, H. M. (1983) · Journal of Applied Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.1983.tb02325.x · Cited by 2,675 · see citing works
Society and the Adolescent Self-Image.
Winch, R. F., & Rosenberg, M. (1965) · Social Forces · doi:10.2307/2575639 · Cited by 1,916 · see citing works
Natural Versus Urban Scenes: Some Psychophysiological Effects
Ulrich, R. S. (1981) · Environment and Behavior · doi:10.1177/0013916581135001 · Cited by 1,248 · see citing works
Social Stress: Theory and Research
Aneshensel, C. S. (1992) · Annual Review of Sociology · doi:10.1146/annurev.so.18.080192.000311 · Cited by 1,197 · see citing works
Socioeconomic Status Differences in Vulnerability to Undesirable Life Events
McLeod, J. D., & Kessler, R. C. (1990) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2137170 · Cited by 672 · cited 1× · see citing works
“A modified version of the Stressful Life Events Inventory was used to assess stressful life events (Cohen and Hoberman, 1983; Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend, 1978; Jacob, 1997; McLeod and Kessler, 1990).”
MethodDattalo, P. (2008) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195315493.001.0001 · Cited by 517 · see citing works
SOME ISSUES IN RESEARCH ON STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS
Dohrenwend, B. S., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (1978) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-197801000-00003 · Cited by 318 · see citing works
The Method of Constructing an Attitude Scale
Likert, R. (2017) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315128948-23 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
Visual landscape preference: A model and application.
Ulrich, R. S. (1977) · Cited by 124 · see citing works
Measuring the similarity among leisure activities based on a perceived stress-reduction benefit
Caltabiano, M. L. (1994) · Leisure Studies · doi:10.1080/02614369400390021 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Toward an Understanding of Variability in Satisfactions Within Activities
Buchanan, T. (1983) · Journal of Leisure Research · doi:10.1080/00222216.1983.11969539 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Psychophysiological Indicators of Leisure Consequences
Ulrich, R. S., Dimberg, U., & Driver, B. L. (1990) · Journal of Leisure Research · doi:10.1080/00222216.1990.11969822 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Class and Race as Status-Related Sources of Stress 1
Dohrenwend, B. S., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (2017) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781315129808-6 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Some Issues in Research on Stressful Life Events
Dohrenwend, B. S., & Dohrenwend, B. P. (1982) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-1-4613-3412-5_5 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Stress and Stress Management: Research and Applications
Hamberger, L. K., & Lohr, J. M. (1984) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 18 · see citing works
Perceived Recreative Experience and the Relief of Tension
Heywood, L. A. (1978) · Journal of Leisure Research · doi:10.1080/00222216.1978.11969340 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS OF PUBLIC GARDENS FOR URBAN RESIDENTS
Bennett, E. S. (1995) · Library, Museums and Press - UDSpace (University of Delaware) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
The Influence Of A Botanical Garden Experience on Human Health
Owen, P. J. (1994) · K-State Research Exchange (Kansas State University) · Cited by 6 · see citing works
History of the United States Botanic Garden, 1816-1991 /
Solit, K., States., U., & States., U. (1993) · U.S. Government Printing Office eBooks · doi:10.5962/bhl.title.78588 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
3 of the 25 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Research works printed but not linked: 8
- studies depression scale, p. 144-160. In: D.J. Keyser and R.C. Sweetland (eds.). Test critiques. vol. 2. Westport, Kansas City, Mo.
- Honeyman, M. 1987. Vegetation and stress: A comparison study of varying amounts of vegetation on countryside and urban scenes. MS thesis. Kan. State Univ., Manhattan.
- Hubbuch, C.E. 1998. What is a botanical garden? The Public Garden 13(1):34-35.
- Kohlleppel, T. 1999. Coping with the effects of stress: Do botanic gardens make a difference? MS thesis. Univ. Fla., Gainesville.
- Lawday, D. 1991. Letter from a productive lover of leisure. U.S. News & World Rpt. 111(6):6-7.
- McLeod, J.D. and R.C. Kessler. 1990. Socioeconomic status differ- ences invulnerability to undesirable life events. J. Health Soc. Behavior 31(2):162-172.
- Ulrich, R.S. and R.F. Simons. 1986. Recovery from stress during exposure to every-day outdoor environments. In: J. Wineman, R. Barnes, and C. Zimring (eds.). The costs of not knowing. Proc. 17th Annu. Conf. Environ. Design Res. Assn. EDRA, Wash., DC.
- Wankel, L.M. and B.G. Berger. 1991. The personal and social benefits of sport and physical activity, p. 121-144. In: B.L. Driver, P.J. Brown, and G.L. Peterson (eds.). Benefits of leisure. Venture, State College, Pa. Restructuring State Major Programs to Address Performance-based Budgeting and Issues Programming Kathryn Gunderson, 1 Steven A. Sargent, 1,4
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Nature-assisted therapy: Systematic review of controlled and observational studies
Annerstedt, M., & Währborg, P. (2011) · Scandinavian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1177/1403494810396400 · Cited by 369 · see citing works
Howarth, M., Brettle, A., Hardman, M., & Maden, M. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-036923 · Cited by 198 · see citing works
Meredith, G., Rakow, D., Eldermire, E., Madsen, C. G., Shelley, S., & Sachs, N. A. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02942 · Cited by 157 · see citing works
A Scoping Review Mapping Research on Green Space and Associated Mental Health Benefits
Wendelboe‐Nelson, C., Kelly, S., Kennedy, M., & Cherrie, J. W. (2019) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph16122081 · Cited by 171 · see citing works
Rugel, E. J., Henderson, S. B., Carpiano, R. M., & Brauer, M. D. (2017) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1016/j.envres.2017.08.033 · Cited by 155 · see citing works
Sellmann-Risse, D., & Bogner, F. X. (2012) · Environmental Education Research · doi:10.1080/13504622.2012.700696 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Perception of the built environment and walking in pericentral neighbourhoods in Santiago, Chile
Herrmann‐Lunecke, M. G., Mora, R., & Salgado, P. V. (2021) · Travel Behaviour and Society · doi:10.1016/j.tbs.2021.01.002 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Ecotherapy – A Forgotten Ecosystem Service: A Review
Summers, J. K., & Vivian, D. N. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01389 · Cited by 118 · see citing works
Scott, T., Masser, B., & Pachana, N. A. (2020) · SAGE Open Medicine · doi:10.1177/2050312120901732 · Cited by 111 · see citing works
Exploring the health and wellbeing benefits of gardening for older adults
Scott, T., Masser, B., & Pachana, N. A. (2014) · Ageing and Society · doi:10.1017/s0144686x14000865 · Cited by 113 · see citing works
Sadick, A.-M., & Kamardeen, I. (2020) · Journal of Building Engineering · doi:10.1016/j.jobe.2020.101789 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
NeuroPlace: Categorizing urban places according to mental states
Al-barrak, L., Kanjo, E., & Younis, E. M. G. (2017) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183890 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Chaudhury, P., & Banerjee, D. (2020) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.604440 · Cited by 68 · see citing works
RetractedBenefits of botanical garden visitation: A means-end study
Wassenberg, C. L., Goldenberg, M. A., & Soule, K. E. (2015) · Urban forestry & urban greening · doi:10.1016/j.ufug.2015.01.002 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Urban forest benefits to the younger population: The case study of the city of Belgrade, Serbia
Vujcic, M., & Tomičević-Dubljević, J. (2018) · Forest Policy and Economics · doi:10.1016/j.forpol.2018.08.006 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Golding, J. S., Güsewell, S., Kreft, H., Kuzevanov, V. Y., Lehvävirta, S., Parmentier, I., & Pautasso, M. (2010) · Annals of Botany · doi:10.1093/aob/mcq043 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Relf, P. D., & Lohr, V. I. (2003) · HortScience · doi:10.21273/hortsci.38.5.984 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Kissi, L., & Dreesmann, D. (2017) · Journal of Biological Education · doi:10.1080/00219266.2017.1385506 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Thinking through Botanic Gardens
Heyd, T. (2006) · Environmental Values · doi:10.1177/096327190601500204 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Valuing Physical and Social Output: A Rapid Assessment of a London Community Garden
Schoen, V., Caputo, S., & Blythe, C. (2020) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su12135452 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Pautasso, M., & Parmentier, I. (2007) · Botanica Helvetica · doi:10.1007/s00035-007-0786-y · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Horticultural therapy for stress reduction: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Lu, S., Liu, J., Xu, M., & Xu, F. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1086121 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Hammond, D. E., McFarland, A. L., Zajicek, J. M., & Waliczek, T. M. (2011) · HortTechnology · doi:10.21273/horttech.21.2.217 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
‘Designing a wellbeing garden’ a systematic review of design recommendations
Harries, B., Chalmin‐Pui, L. S., Gatersleben, B., Griffiths, A., & Ratcliffe, E. (2023) · Design for Health · doi:10.1080/24735132.2023.2215915 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Al-Barrak, L., & Kanjo, E. (2013) · Augmented Human International Conference · doi:10.1145/2459236.2459267 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Azhar, J., Gjerde, M., Vale, B., & Asif, M. K. (2022) · Architecture · doi:10.3390/architecture2020013 · Cited by 19 · see citing works
A qualitative study on walking in the Penang Botanical Gardens, Malaysia
Karupiah, P., & Bada, A. B. (2017) · Annals of Leisure Research · doi:10.1080/11745398.2017.1359790 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Interaction with the Plant World as a Source of Positive Human Functioning
Кимовна, Н.-Б. С., Mukhortova, E. A., & Irkhin, B. D. (2020) · Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy · doi:10.17759/cpp.2020280209 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Green Space and Mental Health: Pathways, Impacts, and Gaps
Rugel, E. J. (2015) · doi:10.13140/rg.2.1.4477.4885 · Cited by 16 · see citing works
Hybrid production of gardens: an actor–network analysis of heterogeneous power relations
Shimoyamada, S. (2018) · Tourism Geographies · doi:10.1080/14616688.2018.1457075 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Zoo educators face common and specific demands and resources: an application of the JD-R model
Sellmann-Risse, D., Beckmann, V., Panzlaff, S., & Menzel, S. (2018) · Environmental Education Research · doi:10.1080/13504622.2018.1436699 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Scott, T., Masser, B., & Pachana, N. A. (2016) · Acta Horticulturae · doi:10.17660/actahortic.2016.1121.2 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Behavioral Impact of Naturalistic and Wilderness Settings
Maple, T. L., & Morris, M. C. (2018) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-811481-0.00010-x · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Demirel, Ö., BULUT, M. B. B., & AYDOĞAN, T. G. (2022) · Directorate National Botanical Garden of Turkiye · doi:10.56494/dnbgt.2022.10 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Middel, I. J., BOUWER, S. C., & Hermann, U. P. (2025) · International Journal of Tourism Cities · doi:10.1080/20565607.2025.2517023 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Krzeptowska-Moszkowicz, I., Moszkowicz, Ł., & Porada, K. (2023) · Sustainability · doi:10.3390/su151914420 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
The Effects of the Literature in the Garden Curriculum on Life Skills of Children
Fleener, A. W. (2008) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Melhem, M., Forrest, A., Abunnasr, Y., Ali, R. A., & Talhouk, S. N. (2023) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-41398-6 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Robinson, C. W. (2016) · CRC Press eBooks · doi:10.1201/b19618-3 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Educational Capacity of Botanical Gardens: What do the research results say?
Bayındır, D. (2023) · Necatibey Eğitim Fakültesi Elektronik Fen ve Matematik Eğitimi Dergisi · doi:10.17522/balikesirnef.1301444 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Cultivating Life: A Study of a School Landscape Project
Fleener, A. W. (2013) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Blossoming Insights: A Bibliometric Review of Botanical Gardens’ Research Across Time (1960-2023)
Manan, A. H., Maruf, A., Ahmi, A., & Hasani, U. O. (2024) · International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics · doi:10.18280/ijdne.190629 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Konya'da Botanik Bahçesi Planlama İlkelerinin Belirlenmesi*
Konaklı, S. Ö. N., & Önder, S. (2011) · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Otoide, J. E. (2019) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.19474205 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Hammond, D. (2010) · OakTrust (Texas A&M University Libraries) · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sensor Data and the City: Urban Visualisation and Aggregation of Well-Being DataPreprint
Johnson, T., Kanjo, E., & Woodward, K. (2020) · arXiv (Cornell University) · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2007.02674 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Botanic Garden User Outcomes: A Means-End Investigation
Wassenberg, C. L. (2012) · doi:10.15368/theses.2012.63 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
FACTORS AFFECTING BOTANIC GARDEN VISITATION AMONG AFRICAN-AMERICANS
Steinhauer, M. (2006)
Gross, H. E., & Piszczek, K. (2024) · Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego eBooks · doi:10.18778/8331-583-6
Residents’ Perceptions of the Benefits of Visitation to a Botanical Garden in South Africa
Middel, I. J., BOUWER, S. C., & Hermann, U. P. (2025) · Journal of Environmental Management and Tourism · doi:10.14505/jemt.v16.2(78).02
Behavioral impact of naturalistic and wilderness settings
Maple, T. L., Snyder, R. J., & Morris, M. C. (2025) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-23536-8.00010-1
Trends Towards Transformation in Canadian Outdoor Health
Priest, S., & Ritchie, S. D. (2026) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-92-0585-1_4
- Authors
- Kohlleppel, T., Bradley, J. C., & Jacob, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- HortTechnology
- Published
- 2002-01
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 489-492
- ISSN
- 1063-0198 (ISSN-L)
- 1943-7714
- OpenAlex
- W2096931524
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 25
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 5 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 0.25
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- HortTechnology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Urban Green Space and Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Health and Well-being Studies
- Keywords
- botanical gardens, stress reduction, coping strategies, depression, nature exposure, green spaces, life events, self-esteem, health perception, gender differences, leisure and recreation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
