University common spaces and students’ psychological restoration: a scoping review of environmental characteristics, restorative outcomes, and potential pathways
- 1Faculty of Tourism & Cultural Creativity, Fujian Polytechnic of Information Technology
- 2College of Design and Creativity, Fujian Jiangxia University
Abstract
Background: University common spaces are important settings where university students spend time, move between destinations, relax, and interact socially. Their environmental characteristics may influence attention restoration, stress reduction, and emotion regulation.
Methods: Following the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines for scoping reviews, we systematically searched the relevant literature, and conducted a narrative synthesis of 52 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis characterized the current state of research on how university common spaces promote psychological restoration among university students, including the influencing factors, psychologically restorative outcomes, and potential pathways underlying these effects.
Results: The results showed the following: (1) Existing studies have focused primarily on campus landscape green spaces, particularly vegetated spaces and waterfront spaces, whereas architectural-environmental and facility-support factors have received relatively little attention. (2) University students’ psychological restoration has mainly been assessed using five categories of indicators: attention restoration, stress reduction, regulation of negative emotions, vitality restoration, and reduced loneliness. All five indicators are influenced, to varying degrees, by the characteristics of university common spaces and their constituent elements. (3) The characteristics and constituent elements of university common spaces may influence university students’ psychological restoration both directly and indirectly, with the latter effects mediated by attitudinal perceptions and behavioral support, including perceived restorativeness, environmental satisfaction, spatial preference, place attachment, physical activity, and social interaction.
Conclusion: Overall, university common spaces have the potential to promote psychological restoration among university students; however, existing studies remain limited by insufficient coverage of space types, a lack of systematic measurement of constituent elements, a lack of standardized restoration outcomes, and limited evidence on underlying mechanisms. Future research should compare multiple types of university common spaces, integrate outcome measures, identify pathways, and quantify spatial elements to provide more actionable evidence for designing restorative environments on university campuses.
Related
- Fall of amalgam restoration: a 10-year analysis of an Australian university dental clinic
- Restorative streetscapes in high-density urban tourism: environmental archetypes, visual attention, and psychophysiological responses
- Estimated Free-Living Energy Balance and Perceived Physical and Psychological Stress in Japanese Male University Students: A 28-Day Observational Study
- Gaming duration and psychological well-being among university students: implications for public health prevention using a cross-sectional study with a modelling approach
- Glossophobia: connections to some psychological and demographic factors among university students
BibTeX
@article{wen2026university,
title = {{University common spaces and students’ psychological restoration: a scoping review of environmental characteristics, restorative outcomes, and potential pathways}},
author = {Hongyan Wen and Hanzheng Lin},
journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1955565},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1955565/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - University common spaces and students’ psychological restoration: a scoping review of environmental characteristics, restorative outcomes, and potential pathways
AU - Hongyan Wen
AU - Hanzheng Lin
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Frontiers in Public Health
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1955565
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1955565/full
AB - Background: University common spaces are important settings where university students spend time, move between destinations, relax, and interact socially. Their environmental characteristics may influence attention restoration, stress reduction, and emotion regulation. Methods: Following the PRISMA-ScR reporting guidelines for scoping reviews, we systematically searched the relevant literature, and conducted a narrative synthesis of 52 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis characterized the current state of research on how university common spaces promote psychological restoration among university students, including the influencing factors, psychologically restorative outcomes, and potential pathways underlying these effects. Results: The results showed the following: (1) Existing studies have focused primarily on campus landscape green spaces, particularly vegetated spaces and waterfront spaces, whereas architectural-environmental and facility-support factors have received relatively little attention. (2) University students’ psychological restoration has mainly been assessed using five categories of indicators: attention restoration, stress reduction, regulation of negative emotions, vitality restoration, and reduced loneliness. All five indicators are influenced, to varying degrees, by the characteristics of university common spaces and their constituent elements. (3) The characteristics and constituent elements of university common spaces may influence university students’ psychological restoration both directly and indirectly, with the latter effects mediated by attitudinal perceptions and behavioral support, including perceived restorativeness, environmental satisfaction, spatial preference, place attachment, physical activity, and social interaction. Conclusion: Overall, university common spaces have the potential to promote psychological restoration among university students; however, existing studies remain limited by insufficient coverage of space types, a lack of systematic measurement of constituent elements, a lack of standardized restoration outcomes, and limited evidence on underlying mechanisms. Future research should compare multiple types of university common spaces, integrate outcome measures, identify pathways, and quantify spatial elements to provide more actionable evidence for designing restorative environments on university campuses.
SN - 2296-2565
ER -