Coastal cultural ecosystem services and adolescents’ subjective well-being
Cultural ecosystem services are the pathway by which adolescents gain subjective well-being
This Italian study explored the interplay between coastal environments, human impact, and adolescents’ well-being. The researchers adopted a cultural ecosystem services perspective to account for spiritual, educational, and recreational values that nature provides in addition to traditional physical and mental health benefits. They investigated how adolescents in Sardinia interacted with nature, how those interactions depend upon cultural ecosystem services, and how those experiences contribute to their subjective well-being. The goal of the study was to inform effective coastal planning by providing valuable insights into the connection between nature exposure and well-being during adolescence—a critical developmental stage.
The study was set in Sardinia—an Italian island with a relatively undeveloped coastline, which made it an instructive context to research. Adopting a qualitative study design, the researchers administered semi-structured interviews to 202 Sardian youth age 16-17. The combination of closed and open-ended questions allowed the researchers to draw connections between elements of the environment, cultural and recreational activities, cultural ecosystem services, and subjective well-being. The study assessed adolescents’ subjective well-being in coastal environments using two frameworks which, combined, captured positive/negative affect and life satisfaction as well as social integration and adolescents’ connection to communities. Questions also accounted for human pressures on the environment. Students completed questionnaires after a group familiarization session, and the researchers analyzed responses inductively, grouping and coding responses into themes which addressed the following: how teens engage with the coast through cultural and recreational activities, what cultural ecosystem services they value most within coastal environments, how adolescent-coastal interactions influence their subjective well-being, and human pressures on the environment.
Adolescents primarily engaged with coastal environments for the natural landscapes more than artificial environments and for the recreational activities and relaxation the environments supported. Responses highlighted the importance of contact with nature as it provided both a sense of place and source of cultural pride. Personal and social well-being components included strong connections between cultural ecosystem services and positive affect, social integration, and physiological well-being. The researchers coded no negative affect in the study related to cultural ecosystem services and subjective well-being. However, perceived human pressures, such as pollution and overcrowding, were related to negative affect, which sometimes motivated to youth to act to improve the environment and their community.
The researchers integrated these themes into a conceptual model of the interconnectedness of the coastal environment, human pressures, cultural ecosystem services, and cultural/recreational activities which contribute to adolescents’ subjective well-being. Their overarching argument is that environmental conditions and cultural/recreational activities linked to cultural ecosystem services contribute to adolescents’ personal and social well-being. Therefore, cultural ecosystem services are the pathway by which adolescents’ gain subjective well-being. In the authors’ view, a cultural ecosystem services lens reveals how environmental elements, human practices, and adolescents’ coastal interactions shape personal and social dimensions of their subjective well-being. This perspective can help coastal planners develop targeted coastal management interventions and policies to promote adolescents’ personal and social well-being.
Citation
Cabana, D., Pinna, S., Farina, S., Grech, D., Barbieri, N., Guala, I., (2024). Coastal cultural ecosystem services and adolescents’ subjective well-being. Ambio, 53,
