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Table 3 Analysis of studies included based on constructs of the theory of planned behaviour

From: The impact of the natural environment on the promotion of active living: An integrative systematic review

Type of physical activity output Overall positive effects Partially or moderately positive effectsa Mixed or no effectsb Overall negative effects Study of underlying mechanismc
Behavioural beliefs      
Psychological statesd [10, 11, 21, 31, 40, 43, 45–49, 51–55, 57] [92, 107] [41, 44, 50]   [21, 31, 48]
Stress relief (psychological)e [23, 31, 44, 59, 87] [10, 27] [58]   [60]
Stress relief (physiological)f [25, 27, 43, 47, 61, 62][42, 43, 55] [10, 40, 45, 58][54] [42, 44]   [25]
Instrumental beliefs [65, 91] [64]    [31, 63, 89, 91]
Feelings about/interest in nature [53, 91]     [53, 59, 67, 91]
Normative and control beliefs      
Perceived behavioural control/self-efficacy      [31, 32, 56, 69, 88]
Social support [23, 24, 87, 91]    [59] [24, 63, 66, 68, 70–73, 88, 111]
Personal barriers      [9, 59, 67, 70–72, 75–82, 88]
Environmental barriers      [3, 9, 23, 24, 31, 50, 58, 63, 64, 66–75, 77, 78, 80, 81, 83–87, 90, 93, 96, 97, 100, 101, 103, 104, 106, 109, 110, 113]
Behavioural intention      
Intention to visit NEs or engage in PA [31] [67, 102]    [31, 32]
Motives for visiting NEs [109]     [67, 87, 91]
Likeability/Preference [40, 44, 50]     [5, 12, 14]
PA behaviours      
General PA [23, 24, 31, 56, 63, 65, 72, 73, 75, 78, 79, 83, 84, 87, 92, 94, 95, 101, 102, 105–110, 112] [3, 8, 9, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 77, 80, 82, 88, 93, 113] [27, 70, 81, 86, 96–98, 103, 111] [100] [31, 104]
NE-based PA [63, 65, 76, 79, 85, 99, 109] [64, 66, 69] [58, 74, 103, 106]   [5, 12, 14, 32, 59, 99]
  1. Theoretical and literature studies are highlighted in bold.
  2. (a)Significance was of moderate extent (e.g. other factors were more relevant), or achieved for only part of PA outputs or population subgroup.
  3. (b)The analysis returned no effects or mixed effects, i.e. some positive and some negative, in relation to different study variables or population subgroups.
  4. (c)The study describes mechanisms underlying the effects of NE on the specific variable.
  5. (d)Mood, self-esteem, vitalization, positive affect, happiness, and mental health parameters.
  6. (e)Perceived environment for restoration, self-reported stress.
  7. (f)Stress hormones, blood pressure, other indicators of allostatic load (e.g. salivary amylase and heart rate variability, and brain-wave activity).
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BMC Public Health

ISSN: 1471-2458

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