A Comparative Study of Sociocultural Differences in Perceptions and Use of Nature Across Chinese Ethnicity

Previous research exploring the nature-health relationship has considered race as a differentiating factor within Western societal contexts, ignoring differences between sociocultural background and ethnicity which may surface in the nature experience within races. This mixed-methods study employed both semi-structured focus group discussions and survey questionnaires to collect data on nature engagement across three Chinese ethnic groups whose attitudes toward nature may be shaped by varying cultural context and current setting. Young adults (N=51) comprising native Chinese, acculturated Chinese who have lived in the US for less than a decade, and American-born Chinese shared attitudes and interactions with nature-based environments as well as reactions to visual prompts of nature commonly identified as Chinese.Inductive thematic analysis using Braun and Clark’s methods produced three major qualitative responses: 1) individuals attach different values to nature whose perception is shaped through emotional attachment, utility, and mystic conceptualization. 2) Societal, cultural, individual, and environmental factors drove individuals to form mixed perceptions of nature that nevertheless aligned within given cultural groupings. And 3) Nature deficiency where all participants spoke of insufficient nature in their surroundings, particularly wild, “intact” nature absent from urban areas.The COVID-19 pandemic alternately enabled and prevented avenues to access nature, depending on work situation and personal preferences. By highlighting the crucial role nature plays and the underlying forces driven by societal, cultural, individual and environmental factors, our qualitative and quantitative analyses lead us to propose an innovative model indicating the perceptual dynamics toward use of nature and self-perceived overall health, which is vital in delivering messages for a post-pandemic era.