South Architecture ›› 2023, Vol. 0 ›› Issue (6): 96-106.DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-0232.2023.06.011

• Research on Design • Previous Articles    

Influence of Waterfront Environments on the Psychological Health of Older Adults during Winters: A Case Study based on Harbin

YUAN Qing1, LI Hongrui2, LENG Hong3   

  • Online:2023-06-29 Published:2023-07-03

冬季滨江空间环境感知对老年人心理健康影响研究——以哈尔滨市为例

袁 青1,李泓锐2,冷 红3   

  • 作者简介:1教授;2硕士研究生;3教授,通讯作者,电子邮箱:hitlaura@126.com;1&2&3哈尔滨工业大学建筑学院、自然资源部寒地国土空间规划与生态保护修复重点实验室
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金资助项目(51978192):严寒地区基于居民心血管健康效应的城市空间影响机制及规划调控技术研究。

Abstract: The psychological health of older adults has become an increasingly important public health issue in the background of aging. The deteriorating psychological health of older adults not only leads to a decrease in physical and cognitive functions but also increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. According to the Chinese National Mental Health Development Report (2019-2020), nearly one-third of older adults suffer from depression, and the psychological health of older adults is not optimistic. It is urgent to adopt countermeasures to improve their psychological health. Environmental characteristics of urban waterfront spaces, which are important places for the daily leisure activities of older adults, are closely related to their psychological health. As a subjective feeling and psychological judgment of people towards the surrounding environment and its changes, environmental perception is the psychological basis for the environmental behaviors of residents. Different environmental perceptions of residents will guide their behavioral activities, thereby generating a positive or negative impact on their psychological health. In addition, the climate in winter in cold region cities has notable influences on older adults and waterfront spaces compared to other common seasons. The action paths under specific climatic backgrounds have to be explored deeply. In this context, it is of great significance to clarify the influencing factors and pathways of environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold region cities on the psychological health of older adults and to propose corresponding planning and optimization suggestions.
  This study focuses on the influence of environmental perception during winter on waterfront spaces in cold region cities on the psychological health of older adults. Based on the summary and analysis of the research foundation, an environmental perception model of winter waterfront spaces was constructed. The relevant influencing factors, possible pathways, and research methods were determined. A structural equation model was built using the social environment and material environment as two perception dimensions, the psychological health of older adults as the dependent variable, and the behavior activities of older adults in winter waterfront spaces as the mediating variable. Based on this, a case study based on the winter waterfront space in Harbin within the Songhua River Basin was carried out, and 312 valid sample data were collected. Finally, an empirical study of the influences of environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold regions on the psychological health of older adults was carried out after data analysis and processing. Moreover, the mediating effects of different behavioral activities of older adults were identified.
  The study found that: (1) after controlling individual characteristics, environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold regions significantly influences the psychological health of older adults. The landscape elements, social elements, comfort elements, and activity elements all have significant positive effects on the psychological health of older adults. The influencing degrees of these elements decrease successively; (2) Environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold regions can directly or indirectly affect the psychological health of older adults through mediating effects. Specifically, the social elements and landscape elements perception can affect the psychological health of older adults directly and indirectly by influencing behavioral activities. In addition, the environmental perception of winter waterfront spaces directly influences older adults; (3) The mediating effects of different behavioral activities of older adults between environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold regions and their psychological health were verified. The mediating effect of interactive waterfront activities is the greatest, followed by waterfront exercise activities, while other leisure activities have a lower mediating effect. This study discloses the influencing mechanism of environmental perception in winter waterfront spaces in cold regions on the psychological health of older adults, and it has some enlightenment to improving and reconstructing winter waterfront spaces in cold region cities.


Key words: winter waterfront space, older adults, psychological health, cold region city, behavioral activities

摘要: 城市滨江空间是老年人户外活动、亲近自然的重要场所,其感知特征对老年人心理健康有重要影响。相比于普通季节,寒地城市冬季气候对老年人和滨水空间具有特殊影响,特定气候背景下的作用路径有待深入探究。以冬季松花江流域哈尔滨市段为研究对象,运用结构方程模型法实证探究寒地冬季滨江空间环境感知对老年人心理健康的影响,并鉴别老年人不同行为活动的作用机制。发现:(1)影响老年人心理健康的寒地冬季滨江空间的环境特征主要由社会性要素、景观性要素、舒适性要素和活动性要素四个维度构成;(2)环境要素感知对老年人心理健康的影响途径包括直接影响和通过行为活动间接作用于老年人心理健康,其中,社会性要素和景观性要素既能直接影响老年人心理健康,也能通过影响行为活动间接影响心理健康,而舒适性要素和活动性要素仅能通过影响行为活动作用于心理健康;(3)老年人在滨江空间的不同行为活动在环境感知影响心理健康的机制中具有中介作用,其中亲水互动行为的中介效应最大。揭示了冬季滨江空间环境特征影响老年人心理健康的机制,对提升改造寒地城市冬季滨江空间具有一定启示意义。


关键词: 冬季滨江空间, 老年人, 心理健康, 寒地城市, 行为活动

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