The monastery as a restorative environment

This study of the restorative benefits of a retreat experience at a Benedictine monastery was based on questionnaire responses by 521 visitors. Factor analysis of the reasons for coming yielded a four-factor solution that both supports and extends the Attention Restoration Theory (ART) model on which the study was based. Two factors, Being Away and Compatibility, parallel the corresponding properties of restorative environments posited by ART. Beauty appears to combine Fascination, Extent, and content in a factor that captures the ART soft fascination concept. The fourth factor, Spirituality, represents a complementary route to tranquility not previously studied in the context of restorative environments. Although the retreat experience was highly rated by all participants, the reactions of first time as opposed to repeat visitors were strikingly different. In particular, Beauty and Spirituality were more important reasons for the experienced visitors and predicted a wide range of outcomes.