How is high school greenness related to students' restoration and health?

This study investigates the association between perceived restorativeness of high school greenness and students' perceived restoration and health. A total of 223 high school students' aged 12-20 participated in the study. Measures included Attention Restoration Theory components (i.e. being away, fascination, coherence, and compatibility), naturalness of school greenness, and health indicators (i.e. stress, mental health, physical health, and quality of life). Bivariate correlations and multivariate regression analysis controlling for sex, age, accommodation, and income showed that perceived restorativeness (i.e. being away (b = .29, p ≤ .001), fascination (b = .35, p ≤ .001), coherence (b = .09, p ≤ .041), and compatibility (b = .35, p ≤ .001)) is predicted by the green space present in the high school campus. For health, none of the health indicators was correlated with high school greenness. Stratified analyses showed that boys reported better perceived restorativeness (i.e. being away, fascination, and compatibility) and less stress (b = .19, p ≤ .037) compared to girls. Younger students reported better health (i.e. physical health (b = .27, p ≤ .034) and quality of life (b = .45, p ≤ .027)), whereas older students reported stronger perceived restorativeness than younger students. Commuter students reported positive perceived restorativeness (i.e. being away, fascination, and compatibility), while boarder students reported negative perceived restorativeness. Findings indicate that high school greenness could be an effective resource in contributing to students' perceived restoration. However, for health benefits students' perception and preferences for certain qualities and features of green space in schools should be provided.