Prior research has shown that viewing natural scenery can improve mood and reduce stress. The present study examined whether these benefits are moderated by depressive symptoms, which theoretically may either reduce or enhance restorative effects of viewing nature. To test these competing hypotheses, we conducted two experiments with participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms (N = 57 in Study 1 and N = 200 in Study 2). After viewing a stressful video, participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions, in which they watched a video of a walk in either a (1) natural, or (2) built environment. Experienced stress and mood (positive and negative) were assessed at the start of the experimental session, after the stress induction, and after watching the environment video. In both experiments, participants with more (rather than less) depressive symptoms displayed more stress reduction after viewing nature rather than built settings. Viewing nature (vs. built settings) only increased reduction of negative affect for participants with more (rather than less) depressive symptoms in Study 2. No significant differences emerged for positive affect. These findings suggest that nature-based interventions may be especially beneficial among people suffering from depressive symptoms.

先前的研究表明，观看自然风光可以改善情绪并减轻压力。本研究检查了抑郁症状是否可以缓解这些益处，从理论上讲，这可以降低或增强观看自然界的恢复作用。为了检验这些相互竞争的假设，我们对患有不同抑郁症状水平的参与者进行了两项实验（ 研究1中的N = 57，研究对象N中的N =研究2中的200）。在观看紧张的视频后，参与者被随机分配到以下两种情况之一：在（1）自然或（2）建筑环境中观看步行视频。在实验开始时，诱发压力后和观看环境视频后，评估经历的压力和情绪（正负）。在这两个实验中，抑郁症症状更多（而不是更少）的参与者在观察自然而非建立环境后显示出更多的压力减轻。在研究2中，观察自然（相对于建筑环境）只会增加抑郁症症状更多（而不是更少）的参与者的负面影响的减少。