The Effect of a Contemplative Nature-based Intervention on Spiritual Well-being

The Effect of a Contemplative Nature-based Intervention on Spiritual Well-being: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this randomized control trial is to test if contemplating in nature could benefit spiritual well-being in general adults. The main question it aims to answer is:

Does a 2-week contemplative nature intervention improve spiritual well-being?

Participants in the intervention condition will walk for 10 minutes and then choose a nice spot to sit for 10 minutes. During these minutes they will be asked to be silently present and observe trees, plants, flowers, or other aspects of nature and contemplate their connectedness to nature and their own awareness. Then walk back 10 minutes.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy; Spiritual Well-being
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Contemplating in nature

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 41
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Netherlands
  • Overijssel
    • Enschede, Overijssel, Netherlands, 7522NB
      • University of Twente

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• is 18 years or older;
• has access to a nearby natural environment for walking and sitting activities such as a forest, park, or walking area;
• possesses the physical ability to walk for half an hour;
• has access to a computer or tablet with a stable internet connection and an email address;
• is willing to commit half an hour to engage in nature walks 10 times over 14 days.

Exclusion Criteria:

- NA.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Contemplative nature intervention; Participants will spend 30 minutes in nature per day for 10 times over 14 days. Participants will walk for 10 minutes and then choose a nice spot to sit for 10 minutes. During these minutes they will be asked to be silently present and observe trees, plants, flowers, or other aspects of nature and contemplate their connectedness to nature and their own awareness. Then walk back 10 minutes.

Behavioral: Contemplating in nature; Participants will spend 30 minutes in nature per day for 10 times over 14 days. Each time, participants will walk for 10 minutes and then choose a nice spot to sit for 10 minutes. During these minutes they will be asked to be silently present and observe trees, plants, flowers or other aspects of nature and contemplate their connectedness to nature and their own awareness. Then walk back 10 minutes.; Other Names: contemplative nature-based interventions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from Baseline to Short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Spiritual well-being assessed by Spiritual Attitude and Involvement List Short Form (SAIL-SF)	On a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 6 (to a very high degree), respondents rate in how far they think specific statements about spiritual well-being apply to themselves. Higher scores indicate higher scores of spiritual well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Spiritual well-being assessed by Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES)	The non-theistic items from DSES will be used. Ranging from 1 (multiple times a day) to 6 (never). The item responses were reverse coded prior to analysis so that larger values would reflect a higher level of daily spiritual experiences.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Client satisfaction of intervention condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Client satisfaction of active control condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Client satisfaction of passive control condition assessed by Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8)	A Likert scale scored from 1 (low satisfaction) to 4 (high satisfaction). Higher score means higher satisfaction with the intervention.	From post-intervention to longer term follow-up at 3 months.
Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Nature connectedness assessed by Connectedness to Nature Scale (CNS)	Items are rated on a 5-point scale with endpoints 1 (strongly disagree) and 5 (strongly agree). Higher score means higher sense of oneness with the natural world.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Nature connectedness assessed by the single item Inclusion of Nature with Self scale (INS)	Participants were asked to select one of seven different sets of overlapping circles labeled ''self'' and ''nature.'' Scores ranged from 1 (where the circles touched but did not overlap) to 7 (where the two circles entirely overlapped).	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Well-being assessed by Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF)	A 6-point Likert scale scored from "never" to "every day". Higher score means higher level of well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Psychological well-being assessed by Brief INSPIRE-O	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (not at all) to 4 (a lot). Higher score means higher psychological well-being.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.
Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to post-intervention at 2 weeks.
Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to short-term follow-up at 1 month.
Stress assessed by Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)	A 5-point Likert scale scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). Higher score means higher level of perceived stress.	Change from baseline to longer-term follow-up at 3 months.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Twente
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ernst Bohlmeijer, Prof. Dr., University of Twente

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): May 10, 2024
• Primary Completion (Actual): September 4, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): September 4, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 5, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 12, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): April 15, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 22, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 16, 2025
• Last Verified: September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: spiritual well-being; nature-based interventions; contemplate
• Other Study ID Numbers: 240310

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No