ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Positive Psychology
The Mediating Role of Activity Attachment in the Relationship between Gardening Frequency, Leisure Orientation, and Mental Well-Being: Evidence from Resident Gardeners with Implications for Future Gardening Tourism
Shandong Xiehe University, Jinan, China
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Abstract
Background: As modern urbanization, digitalization, and technological progress increasingly separate people from their natural environment, engaging with nature to improve residents' well-being is becoming an increasingly challenging task. Purpose: By applying the most accessible therapeutic effect of gardening, our study aims to explore how the frequency of gardening activities and leisure orientation contribute to attachment to the activity. In turn, attachment to an activity increases mental well-being and reduces stress levels. Our case study was conducted in the developing urban area of Shymkent in Kazakhstan. Methods: Using snowball sampling, we surveyed 210 urban residents, of whom 135 were gardeners and 75 were non-gardeners. The survey measured gardening frequency, leisure orientation, activity attachment, mental well-being and perceived stress. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests. Results: The results show that Frequent gardening (β = 0.225, p = 0.004) and perceiving it as a leisure activity (β = 0.209, p = 0.009) were associated with stronger attachment to gardening, which was linked to higher reported mental well-being (β = 0.256, p < 0.001) and lower perceived stress (β = 0.241, p < 0.001). Attachment partially mediated the relationship between gardening engagement and mental health outcomes. ANOVA indicated that participants who gardened regularly reported higher mental well-being than those who did not, with the most notable associations observed among individuals who gardened at least twice a week. Conclusions: Participants who garden report higher mental health and lower stress levels, especially when gardening frequently with leisure motivation and a sense of attachment. To create healthier cities, public health and urban planning initiatives should promote access to leisure gardening activities and develop future green gardening tourism initiatives.
Summary
Keywords
Activity attachment3, Ecotherapy5, Kazakhstan6, Leisure orientation1, Mental Well-Being2, public health7, Urban gardening4
Received
14 December 2025
Accepted
03 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Mamirkulova and Menhas. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Rashid Menhas
Disclaimer
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