Accessibility to Urban Parks and Resilience Among Adults: Gender Inequalities from the Desvela Study
Abstract
Introduction: While associations between greenness and mental health have been studied, resilience, understood as the ability to adapt positively to stress and adversity, has received less attention. This study examined the relationship between the distance to the nearest park and resilience, considering potential gender differences.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,852 Spanish adults assigned to Primary Healthcare centers of nine autonomous communities. Resilience was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Unadjusted and adjusted differences in resilience and distance to the nearest park were assessed using Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Covariance, and multiple linear regression models in the total sample and stratified by sex. This study finally comprised 2,922 individuals, 52.0% women. The mean age of the participants was 53.6 years ± 10.9 SD.
Results: Participants living farther from parks (>700m) showed significantly lower resilience than those in the close (<300m; mean difference = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.06, 1.11, p = 0.028) and medium (300m-700m; mean difference = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.28, 1.35, p = 0.003) subgroups. Greater distance to the nearest park was inversely associated with resilience in the total sample (β = -0.040, 95% CI: -0.075, -0.003, p = 0.030). Stratified analyses revealed this association was significant among men (β = -0.060, 95% CI: -0.110, -0.009, p = 0.020), but not among women (β = -0.018, 95% CI: -0.068, 0.030, p = 0.463).
Conclusions: Greater residential distance to the nearest park was associated with lower resilience in adults, especially in men. These findings highlight the potential importance of urban green space accessibility for promoting mental well-being, underscoring the need to consider gender in public health research and interventions.
Key messages: • Adults living more than 700 meters from a park show significantly lower levels of adaptive capacity compared to those within 300 meters
• These findings suggest that the psychological benefits of greenness are moderated by gender, necessitating gender-sensitive approaches in both urban planning and public health interventions.
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BibTeX
@article{toribio2026accessibility,
title = {{Accessibility to Urban Parks and Resilience Among Adults: Gender Inequalities from the Desvela Study}},
author = {I Marcilla Toribio and B Bizzozero Peroni and B Notario Pacheco and M Martínez Andrés and S Cekrezi and A Pérez Moreno and AM Caraballo Betancort and E Rodríguez Gutiérrez and L Moratalla Cebrián and P Rubio García},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.188},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.188},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Accessibility to Urban Parks and Resilience Among Adults: Gender Inequalities from the Desvela Study
AU - I Marcilla Toribio
AU - B Bizzozero Peroni
AU - B Notario Pacheco
AU - M Martínez Andrés
AU - S Cekrezi
AU - A Pérez Moreno
AU - AM Caraballo Betancort
AU - E Rodríguez Gutiérrez
AU - L Moratalla Cebrián
AU - P Rubio García
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.188
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.188
AB - Introduction: While associations between greenness and mental health have been studied, resilience, understood as the ability to adapt positively to stress and adversity, has received less attention. This study examined the relationship between the distance to the nearest park and resilience, considering potential gender differences. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,852 Spanish adults assigned to Primary Healthcare centers of nine autonomous communities. Resilience was assessed using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale. Unadjusted and adjusted differences in resilience and distance to the nearest park were assessed using Analysis of Variance, Analysis of Covariance, and multiple linear regression models in the total sample and stratified by sex. This study finally comprised 2,922 individuals, 52.0% women. The mean age of the participants was 53.6 years ± 10.9 SD. Results: Participants living farther from parks (>700m) showed significantly lower resilience than those in the close (<300m; mean difference = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.06, 1.11, p = 0.028) and medium (300m-700m; mean difference = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.28, 1.35, p = 0.003) subgroups. Greater distance to the nearest park was inversely associated with resilience in the total sample (β = -0.040, 95% CI: -0.075, -0.003, p = 0.030). Stratified analyses revealed this association was significant among men (β = -0.060, 95% CI: -0.110, -0.009, p = 0.020), but not among women (β = -0.018, 95% CI: -0.068, 0.030, p = 0.463). Conclusions: Greater residential distance to the nearest park was associated with lower resilience in adults, especially in men. These findings highlight the potential importance of urban green space accessibility for promoting mental well-being, underscoring the need to consider gender in public health research and interventions. Key messages: • Adults living more than 700 meters from a park show significantly lower levels of adaptive capacity compared to those within 300 meters • These findings suggest that the psychological benefits of greenness are moderated by gender, necessitating gender-sensitive approaches in both urban planning and public health interventions.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -