Smartphone-based Nature Noticing Intervention

Smartphone-based Nature Noticing Intervention for Cultivating Social Connectedness

We used a mixed-methods approach involving a RCT study followed by focus group discussions to obtain a more integrative understanding of the effects of a 10-week nature-noticing intervention.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Social Behaviour
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Nature-noticing intervention

Detailed Description

Initially, 127 students were recruited from a Hong Kong secondary school. Half of the students (n = 63) were randomly assigned to a 10-week intervention by the school teacher; the students' preferences did not affect the assignments. They were asked to take pictures of nearby nature and share the photos, along with their reflections on what they noticed, in the group chat twice a week for 10 weeks. The other half of the students (n = 64) were not assigned any tasks and served as the control group. Two participants who did not complete the baseline questionnaire were excluded. This resulted in 125 (98.4%) participants who were included in the analysis. Power analysis indicated that the minimum sample size of 54 participants was required for this study, with an alpha level of 0.05, a power of 0.95, and a small-to-medium effect of f(v) = 0.25. The students who more proactively engaged in the 10-week nature photo-taking and sharing were invited to the focus group discussion after the intervention. These participants shared their emotions and thoughts in detail, along with a wider variety of photographic topics, indicating more in-depth observations of their nearby nature. A total of nine participants took part in the discussion.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 127
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hong Kong
  • Hong Kong, Hong Kong
    • The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion criteria:

• Hong Kong secondary school students
• 15-17 years

Exclusion criteria:

• Students receiving intensive psychiatric treatment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: No-treatment control group; Group who was not assigned any tasks
Experimental: A 10-week nature-noticing intervention; Group who asked to take pictures of nearby nature and share their thoughts on the group chat twice a week for 10 weeks	Behavioral: Nature-noticing intervention; Participants were asked to notice nearby nature (i.e. 'anywhere with some nature'), to take a photo when they noticed a specific object or scene in nature evoked a strong emotion in them, and to write down thoughts and emotions twice a week for 10 weeks. Participants were further instructed that and upload it to the group chat along with a brief description of the emotions that were evoked.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Prosocial behaviour	Participants' prosocial behaviour was measured using a subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). In the SDQ, prosocial behaviour is associated with individuals' ability to relate well with their peers and engage in actions that benefit those around them. Five items are measured on a 3-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (not true) to 3 (certainly true). Higher scores indicate greater degrees of prosocial behaviour.	Baseline and 10 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social Connectedness	Social Connectedness Scale - Revised (SCS-R) measures the degree to which youth feel connected to others in their social environment. The SCS-R contains 20 items (10 positive and 10 negative) measured on a 6-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree). The negatively worded items are reverse-scored, summed with the positive items and divided by 20 to obtain a total score. Higher scores indicated a greater sense of belonging, closeness and support.	Baseline and 10 weeks
Empathy	Interpersonal Reactivity Index (B-IRI) measures the degree to which individuals can empathise with others. Among the four sub-scales, empathic concern and perspective-taking were used to obtain the total IRI score [28]. The eight items were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (does not describe me well) to 5 (describes me very well). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of empathy.	Baseline and 10 weeks
Loneliness	The UCLA Loneliness Scale (ULS-8) measures the severity of respondents' feelings of loneliness. The scale contains eight items measured on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (never) to 4 (often). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of loneliness.	Baseline and 10 weeks
Self-esteem	The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) measures respondents' self-esteem. The RSES contains 10 items, which are measured on a 4-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree).	Baseline and 10 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Eun Yeong Choe, PhD, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): January 10, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 20, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): December 20, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 14, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 19, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: adolescent; social connectedness; prosocial behaviour
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavior; Social Behavior
• Other Study ID Numbers: CUHKShenzhen_3

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No