EVER felt like your surroundings are affecting your mental health?
You’re not imagining it – a new analysis from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study, spanning eight years, reveals a strong link between where we live, how often we move, and our mental wellbeing.
ENVIRONMENT MATTERS
It’s easy to see how living in a walkable, green suburb with parks and stable neighbours might feel different from residing in a transient area with few services and busy roads.
Our built and natural environments shape how safe, supported and settled we feel.
But this study went further. It asked: does mental health influence where we end up living, too?
TRACKING LIVES OVER TIME
Unlike most research that captures a single moment, this study followed the same individuals year after year.
It examined changes in mental health, housing moves, access to positive or negative environmental features, and shifts in neighbourhood conditions like poverty and overcrowding.
Researchers also considered personal factors like age, body size and exercise habits.
To make sense of the complex data, they used Random Forest algorithms – machine learning tools that identify which factors most influence mental health.
They also ran Monte Carlo simulations to predict how improved neighbourhoods might affect future mental health outcomes.
A VICIOUS CYCLE
The findings revealed a troubling feedback loop. People with depression or anxiety were more likely to move – and those who moved were more likely to experience worsening mental health later.
Even more concerning, those with persistent mental health issues tended to relocate to more deprived areas, where stressors were higher and resources scarcer.
While the study couldn’t pinpoint why these moves occurred, unstable housing, financial strain, or the desire for a fresh start may play a role.
Future research aims to explore these causes further.
STABILITY SUPPORTS WELLBEING
Conversely, people who moved less often – especially those in low-deprivation areas – ended to enjoy better long-term mental health.
Stability, it seems, matters. So does the neighbourhood.
MENTAL HEALTH IS MORE THAN INTERNAL
This research challenges the notion that mental health is purely internal.
Our environments shape our minds, and our minds influence where we live.
Supporting mental health means looking beyond individual choices.
Because ultimately, mental health isn’t just in our heads – it’s rooted in the places we call home.
Extracts from the article by Matthew Hobbs – Associate Professor Sheffield Hallam University; Chris G. Sibley, Professor in Psychology, University of Auckland; Elena Moltchanova, Professor of Statistics, University of Canterbury; Taciano L. Milfont, Professor in Environmental Psychology, University of Waikato.
Source: Theconversation.com.au
