Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1930030
Yan Liu
{"title":"Digital attention disruption and academic impact in adolescents: a data-driven network and machine learning analysis.","authors":"Yan Liu","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1930030","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1930030","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Academic impact associated with digital media use is a topic of considerable concern in the fields of adolescent mental health and education; however, the role of attention status in this context remains largely unknown. The present study aimed to systematically investigate the multidimensional association patterns between attention-related characteristics and academic impact among adolescents using data mining approaches. The data were derived from two publicly available cross-sectional survey datasets, and a final sample of 799 adolescents aged 19 years and below was included after age screening. The analytical framework integrated LASSO regression, regularized partial correlation network analysis based on EBICglasso, XGBoost predictive modeling with SHAP interpretation, and latent profile analysis. Results showed that LASSO regression identified stress level (coefficient = 0.384) and social media use duration (coefficient = 0.297) as the strongest predictors of academic impact. Network analysis revealed a three-community structure, corresponding to the \"digital distraction load,\" \"psychological-academic exhaustion,\" and \"academic engagement\" dimensions, with academic impact located at the intersection of the first two communities. The XGBoost model achieved an AUC of 0.842, and SHAP dependence plots further revealed a nonlinear pattern with an inflection point at approximately 3.5 hours for daily social media use duration and a nonlinear effect of stress level. Latent profile analysis identified three subgroups, among which the \"high stress-exhaustion\" group showed a probability of academic impact as high as 79.4%. These findings indicate that attention-related characteristics can effectively predict academic impact status in adolescents, with stress level, social media use duration, and number of notifications constituting the most influential set of predictors. The results provide data-driven theoretical evidence and practical implications for the early identification and stratified intervention of academic impact in adolescents.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1930030"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716797/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296331","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1860169
Min Li, Xiangyu Shi, Qinghong Xu, Jie Li
{"title":"Dynamic adaptation of attentional control across bilingual interactional contexts.","authors":"Min Li, Xiangyu Shi, Qinghong Xu, Jie Li","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1860169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1860169","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background/objectives: </strong>Bilingual experience is thought to shape cognitive control via adaptive attentional reorganization, yet the neural mechanisms by which different interactional contexts dynamically modulate attentional control remain unclear. This study used EEG to examine how Chinese monolingual, English monolingual, bilingual, and voluntary naming contexts influence attentional control in Chinese-English bilinguals.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Thirty-five bilinguals completed picture-naming tasks in different contexts, followed by an antisaccade task with concurrent EEG. We analyzed reaction time, ERPs, frontal and parietal delta/theta power, and frontoparietal functional connectivity (wPLI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Bilingual and voluntary naming contexts shortened antisaccade reaction times (all <i>p</i> < 0.01). No significant main effect of context was found on N2 amplitudes (<i>p</i> = 0.615). Both contexts reduced parietal delta and theta power relative to the English monolingual context (all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Exploratory connectivity analysis initially suggested bilingual-context effects, but this finding did not survive homologous ROI validation. These preliminary sensor-level findings await validation by source-localized EEG or fMRI.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These findings suggest that bilingual and voluntary naming contexts may facilitate attentional control through adaptive reorganization of the attentional system rather than through enhancing a specific inhibitory process. This pattern is consistent with the adaptationist perspective on bilingual cognition and provides preliminary neural evidence for the language mode theory.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1860169"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716584/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296131","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1956842
Yuan He, Lin Huang
{"title":"Feeling or thinking? User aversion to AI customer service in online education.","authors":"Yuan He, Lin Huang","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1956842","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1956842","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>AI customer service is increasingly integrated into online education, yet users may not always respond favorably to AI-assisted service interactions. Drawing on robotic role theory, this study examines how thinking and feeling AI customer service influence user aversion in online educational service encounters.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Three experiments were conducted to examine the effect of AI customer service type on user aversion (Study 1, <i>N</i> = 120), the mediating role of perceived intelligence (Study 2, <i>N</i> = 120), and the moderating role of AI identity disclosure timing (Study 3, <i>N</i> = 120). Across the three between-subjects experiments, thinking AI was operationalized through analytical, information-processing, and task-oriented communication, whereas feeling AI emphasized emotional recognition and relational support.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The results show that feeling AI generates greater user aversion than thinking AI. Perceived intelligence mediated this effect, such that feeling AI is perceived as less intelligent, which in turn increases user aversion. Further, AI identity disclosure timing moderates the indirect effect through perceived intelligence. Early disclosure of AI identity attenuates the negative effect of feeling AI.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These findings demonstrate that the effectiveness of different AI customer service types depends on the service context and highlight the importance of aligning AI communication with users' task-oriented service needs.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1956842"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716787/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296325","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1760389
France Lerner, Paulo Cezar Rocha Dos Santos, Guillaume Tahar
{"title":"The perceptual geometry and chromaticity of near-death experience spaces.","authors":"France Lerner, Paulo Cezar Rocha Dos Santos, Guillaume Tahar","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1760389","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1760389","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) challenge conventional research methods, as they are often described as exceeding the limits of verbal expression. While most studies rely on narrative accounts, little attention has been given to graphic representations as a complementary mode of investigation. This study employs a hybrid approach combining a semi-structured digital questionnaire with a graphic reconstruction task. Participants first segmented their Out-of-Body Experience (OBE) and NDE into distinct experiential sequences by assigning chronological numbers to each phase. This sequencing enabled the identification of what we term the experiential NDE Core, defined here as the NDE sequence or sequences distinguished from the Dissociative and Associative OBE phases, thereby facilitating comparisons across participants. The graphic reconstructions identified recurrent Visual-Field boundary configurations, including conical forms, elliptic arcs with variable Visual-Field Extents (VFE), and ellipsoidal configurations. Exploratory analyses indicated variation in chromatic perceptual qualities across these configurations, although evidence for differences among configurations was not uniform across statistical analyses. The reported emergence of Visual Mental Imagery also appeared to vary across Visual-Field configurations. This dual-method design was intended to capture experiential features of OBEs and NDEs that may not be conveyed through verbal reports alone. Notably, OBEs have rarely been examined in terms of their independence from, or conjunction with, NDEs. In the present study, their temporal placement was defined operationally by the sequencing protocol to permit isolation of the NDE Core.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1760389"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716671/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296370","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identifying future geriatric nurses: psychometric evaluation of the German Willingness to Work with Elderly People Scale among nursing students.","authors":"Shengze Zhi, Burcu Akpınar Söylemez, Jiao Sun, Birgit Teichmann","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1933160","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1933160","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>In German-speaking countries, where geriatric care faces a persistent nursing shortage, nursing students are expected to play a key role in addressing future workforce needs. Currently, there is a lack of valid and reliable instruments to assess nursing students' willingness to work with older adults. This cross-sectional study aimed to validate the German version of the Willingness to Work with Elderly People (WEPS-D) Scale and examine factors associated with the willingness to work with older adults to support geriatric workforce development in nursing education.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A convenience sample of 207 German-speaking nursing students completed the survey, including 52 students who participated in a 4-week retest. Structural validity was evaluated using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), while convergent validity was assessed through correlations with the Kogan Attitudes toward Older People Scale (KAOP), Age Stereotypes (AS), and Future Self-views (FS). Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined. In addition, multiple linear regression was used to identify factors independently associated with willingness to work with older adults.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>EFA identified a four-factor structure (intention, perceived behavioral control, attitude, and subjective norm) with 20 items, explaining 49.01% of the total variance. Convergent validity was supported at the factor level, with factor 3 (Attitude) showing a moderate correlation with the KAOP (<i>r</i> = 0.515, <i>p</i> < 0.01), while the total WEPS-D score showed a lower correlation (<i>r</i> = 0.385, <i>p</i> < 0.01) that did not meet the pre-specified criterion. At the scale level, internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.894, McDonald's ω = 0.902) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.882) were good, although factors 3 (Attitude) and 4 (Subjective norm) showed relatively low internal consistency. Multiple linear regression showed that higher education and negative or neutral attitudes toward aging were significantly associated with lower WEPS-D scores compared with vocational training and positive attitudes, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The WEPS-D is a valid and reliable tool for assessing nursing students' willingness to work with older adults. It can be used in schools to identify the potential workforce in geriatric nursing and guide early educational interventions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1933160"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716665/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1949869
Theresa L Scott, Melissa Kugelman, Amanda Salmon
{"title":"Ageism toward older adults during COVID-19: associations with emotional coping and intergenerational contact.","authors":"Theresa L Scott, Melissa Kugelman, Amanda Salmon","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1949869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1949869","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic brought substantial social and emotional stressors, alongside widespread messaging that framed older adults as particularly vulnerable. It remains unclear whether these conditions were associated with hostile and benevolent ageist perspectives of older people. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the factors associated with ageism, perceived changes in emotional coping, and the attitudes and experiences of Australian residents toward older adults.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ageism, aging expectations, and contact quality with older adults in the context of COVID-19 were explored using an online, cross-sectional correlational study design, participants responded to both established and novel measures for these factors.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 273 Australian residents completed the online study (aged 19-82 years, <i>M</i> = 40.73, <i>SD</i> = 14.74). There was no association between emotional coping and ageist beliefs. More positive aging expectations were related to lower hostile ageism, but not benevolent ageism. Positive contact with older adults was linked with lower hostile ageism and higher benevolent ageism, while negative contact showed the reverse pattern.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The current study suggests that ageist messages portraying 'vulnerability' reflected commonly held attitudes toward older Australians during the pandemic and highlights the importance of considering both the quality and nature of intergenerational contact when developing ageism-reduction strategies. Potential explanations, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1949869"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716784/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149295931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Algorithmic management and gig workers' workplace wellbeing: the moderating role of psychological resilience.","authors":"Zha Xiaofang, Zhang Yue, Zhang Dandan, Feng Xinying, Suziana Mat Yasin","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1960382","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1960382","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This study examines how algorithmic management in the gig economy is related to gig workers' workplace wellbeing. Specifically, we explore how algorithmic management corresponds with (positive) challenge appraisal and (negative) threat appraisal. We also examine the moderating role of psychological resilience in these relationships, as well as the implications of appraisal processes for workplace wellbeing. Data were collected from 389 food delivery workers in China. We find that algorithmic management is positively associated with both challenge appraisal and threat appraisal. Challenge appraisal is positively associated with workplace wellbeing, whereas threat appraisal is negatively associated with workplace wellbeing. Psychological resilience strengthens the challenge-appraisal pathway and the corresponding positive indirect relationship with workplace wellbeing, but it does not significantly buffer the threat-appraisal pathway. These findings show that algorithmic management is associated with both positive and negative appraisal processes and that psychological resilience may play different roles across these pathways. The study therefore offers a more nuanced explanation of the relationship between algorithmic management and gig workers' workplace wellbeing.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1960382"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716670/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149295950","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1978751
Usman Ghani, Yongnian Su, Yangyang Shi, Yufei Zhou, Jin Cheng
{"title":"Beyond physical distance: how workplace loneliness links telecommuting to cyberloafing.","authors":"Usman Ghani, Yongnian Su, Yangyang Shi, Yufei Zhou, Jin Cheng","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1978751","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1978751","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Telecommuting offers flexibility, but it may also be accompanied by fewer opportunities for everyday social connection in the workplace. Drawing on Conservation of Resources theory, this study examines how such social disconnection is associated with cyberloafing and why this process varies across employees. Using two-wave survey data from 350 employees in China with recent telecommuting experience, we found a significant indirect association between telecommuting and cyberloafing through workplace loneliness. This indirect association was weaker when employees reported higher-quality leader-member exchange or greater task interdependence. These two conditions reflect different forms of workplace resources: leader-member exchange provides relational support, whereas task interdependence sustains interaction through the organization of work itself. These findings shift attention away from whether telecommuting is inherently beneficial or harmful and toward the social resource conditions that shape employees' responses to working apart. They also offer a more nuanced view of cyberloafing as a possible short-term withdrawal-based digital response that is consistent with coping interpretations under conditions of diminished workplace connection.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1978751"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716549/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1940689
Wenke Sun
{"title":"From gesture to meaning: art therapy, children's drawing process, and emotional resilience-a phenomenologically informed psychological study.","authors":"Wenke Sun","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1940689","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1940689","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Children often struggle to verbalise difficult emotions, which makes therapeutic methods that support their emotional health and wellbeing particularly important. This study examined the relationship between art therapy, children's drawing processes, and emotional resilience from a phenomenologically oriented psychological perspective in China. The study aimed to understand children's experiences of drawing during art therapy and the role of these experiences in meaning-making and the development of resilience. A qualitative phenomenological design was used with 20 children (aged 8-12 years) who took part in a 10-week art therapy programme delivered across three settings. Data were collected through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, reflective dialogue, and analysis of 200 drawings, and were analysed following transcendental phenomenological procedure. Four interconnected themes emerged: Drawing as Emotional Externalisation, Symbolic Meaning-Making Through Visual Narratives, Transformation of Fear into Agency, and Emergence of Emotional Resilience and Future Orientation. Participants described drawing as a means of externalising difficult emotions, constructing personal meaning through symbols and stories, and developing a stronger sense of agency and coping. The findings suggest that art therapy can function as a developmental bridge connecting emotion and meaning, supporting children's experienced sense of resilience through emotional awareness, reflective understanding, and self-expression. As a qualitative study without a comparison group or independent outcome measures, the findings describe children's perceived and experienced changes rather than demonstrated therapeutic effects; with this caveat, the results carry exploratory implications for education, counselling, and therapeutic practice aimed at supporting children's psychological wellbeing.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1940689"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716618/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296321","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Frontiers in PsychologyPub Date : 2026-10-15eCollection Date: 2026-01-01DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1900785
Zoe Jiwen Zhang, Herman Hay Ming Lo, Wai Fong Lok, Qi-Rong Chen
{"title":"Nature-based mindfulness program for parents and caregivers: a mixed-methods study.","authors":"Zoe Jiwen Zhang, Herman Hay Ming Lo, Wai Fong Lok, Qi-Rong Chen","doi":"10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1900785","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1900785","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>There is a growing interest in incorporating nature into mindfulness-based programs. This study is unique as it targets parents and family caregivers experiencing caregiving stress.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A mixed-methods study was conducted to evaluate the outcome of a nature-based mindfulness intervention program. A comprehensive outcome measures targeting benefits of parents and caregivers, including mental health symptoms, wellbeing, physical distress, family functioning, and family conflicts, were assessed over time. The role of nature in overall outcome was investigated through the participants' perceived connectedness to nature and time spent in nature. The program consists of four sessions, totaling 8 h of contact time, held at a retreat center and social care units. A total of 95 participants were recruited, including 40 caregivers of older adults and 55 parents under stress. The study employed a time series design, with assessments conducted 1 month before the program, pre-program, post-program, and at a 3-month follow-up.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>For caregivers, significant improvements were observed in multiple outcome measures, including anxiety, stress, physical distress, daily functioning, and wellbeing, following the program. Further improvement in connectedness with nature was noted between the pre-test and the 3-month follow-up, with depression and family functioning approaching significance. For parents under stress, significant improvements were found only in wellbeing after the program. However, additional improvements in anxiety, stress, physical distress, and family conflicts (psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and physical maltreatment) were observed during the follow-up period, with depression and daily functioning approaching significance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that connectedness to nature significantly associated with the program's effect on depression. Qualitative analysis revealed that participants benefited from attention restoration, increased awareness, and insights gained from nature and mindfulness practices.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>Due to the limitations of the study, including the lack of control group and the use of self-reported measures, future study should verify the benefits of nature-based mindfulness programs particularly on the effects on parents and caregivers under stress and at risk of mental health conditions.</p>","PeriodicalId":12525,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Psychology","volume":"17 ","pages":"1900785"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2026-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13716632/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149296227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}