Investigating the relationship between neighbourhood characteristics, perceived social support and psychological wellbeing in Spanish adolescents

Investigating the relationship between neighbourhood characteristics, perceived social support and psychological wellbeing in Spanish adolescents | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Investigating the relationship between neighbourhood characteristics, perceived social support and psychological wellbeing in Spanish adolescents Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer, Giacomo Bignardi, Gonzalo García-Baquero, and 8 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6656804/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted 6 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The rapid urbanisation of many countries has raised important questions about how neighbourhood characteristics affect wellbeing, particularly during adolescence, a period of vulnerability to mental health conditions. This study investigated how population density, neighbourhood deprivation, green space availability and residential greenness are related to psychological wellbeing in adolescence, as well as the role of perceived social support and autonomy in this relationship. Using data from 970 participants aged 9–17 years in the INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente) cohort in Spain, collected between 2016 and 2022, we applied a set of linear mixed effects models to examine these associations, and also explored potential differences by age, sex and family affluence. The results showed an association between higher residential greenness and better psychological wellbeing in older adolescents (15–17 years). This association was partially mediated by greater family support and feelings of autonomy. In addition, there was an association between higher population density and worse psychological wellbeing in older adolescents. No significant associations were found between neighbourhood deprivation, greenspace availability and psychological wellbeing. Finally, the relationships reported in this study were not modified by family affluence. These findings suggest that neighbourhood residential greenness could contribute to feelings of family support and autonomy, which contribute to important aspects of psychosocial adaptation during adolescence. Biological sciences/Psychology/Human behaviour Health sciences/Risk factors Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files PieraPiSunyerSupplemental12Aug.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 06 Nov, 2025 Read the published version in Scientific Reports → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Accepted 30 Sep, 2025 Reviews received at journal 30 Sep, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 30 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 30 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 15 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6656804","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":515485507,"identity":"fed5ea52-d977-4635-8236-2f3e76eda0f4","order_by":0,"name":"Blanca Piera Pi-Sunyer","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAvUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACAwaG9A8JFXB+AlFanjE8OEOaFsZnjA/bSNFiLt2c9iBxnp28bgPzww+MbWmEtVjOOZZukLgt2XDbATZjCca2HCIcdiMnQSJx2wHGbQcYzBgY2yqI0ZL/QSJxzgH7bQfYvxGrJSFNIrHhANAiHpAtRDjMcs6BZIOEY8nJ2w7zFEsknCPC++bSDYkPf9TY2W473r7xw4eyZMJaGCRgDGYGomIFWcsoGAWjYBSMAlwAADHDPOhVucyXAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Blanca","middleName":"","lastName":"Piera Pi-Sunyer","suffix":""},{"id":515485508,"identity":"5dd14dc4-0a9e-4f91-b133-db8d415fea2e","order_by":1,"name":"Giacomo Bignardi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giacomo","middleName":"","lastName":"Bignardi","suffix":""},{"id":515485509,"identity":"d461098d-4311-47a4-a5ed-ba0e733f0c18","order_by":2,"name":"Gonzalo García-Baquero","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Faculty of Biology, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gonzalo","middleName":"","lastName":"García-Baquero","suffix":""},{"id":515485510,"identity":"b2d8f9bf-368c-497e-83d2-6a7e0d44103b","order_by":3,"name":"Payam Dadvand","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain; 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