Horticultural Activities Participation and College Students’ Positive Mental Characters: Mediating Role of Academic Self-Efficacy

Abstract

In recent years, the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, irregular closed school life and frequent online teaching have negatively impacted the mental health and academic performance of many college students. Doing horticultural activities is an effective way to promote physical and mental health and enhance academic performance. This paper explores the relationship between horticultural activities participation, academic self-efficacy and positive mental characters under the perspective of disciplinary integration, with a view to promoting the mental health status and academic performance of college students and the application of horticultural therapy on college campuses. Questionnaires such as the Positive Mental Characters Scale for Chinese College Students (PMCS-CCS) and Academic Self-Efficacy Scale (ASES) are used to investigate 160 college students from four universities in China. The results show that horticultural activity participation is significantly positively correlated with academic self-efficacy (r = 0.345; p < 0.01) and positive mental characters (r = 0.298; p < 0.01), and horticultural activity participation can positively affect positive mental characters (B = 0.135, p < 0.01). At the same time, academic self-efficacy has a partial mediating effect between horticultural activity participation and positive mental characters. Universities can actively carry out campus horticultural activities to enhance students’ horticultural activity participation, which in turn promotes academic self-efficacy and further enhances the positive psychological level of college students.

The Role of Horticultural Therapy in Promoting Physical and Mental Health

“…By observing their own successful experiences, individuals believe in their ability to cope with difficulties and develop problem-solving skills. This confidence and expectation contribute to further enhancing individuals' self-efficacy (Guo et al, 2023;Lu et al, 2023).…”

“…For example, incorporating green plants in office or study spaces has been shown to reduce stress and improve productivity (Li et al, 2022). In addition, horticultural activities cultivate individuals' sense of self-efficacy and mastery through the processes of creativity and problem-solving, thereby building their confidence and resilience (Guo et al, 2023;Lu et al, 2023).…”