THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS, GENDER AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BOTH PARENTS AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

THIS DISSERTATION INVESTIGATED THE IMPACT OF NATURE EXPOSURE, NAMELY ACCESS TO  GREEN ELEMENTS, AND TIME SPENT OUTDOORS ON WELL-BEING, SPECIFICALLY EXPERIENCES OF  POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE AFFECT AND FLOURISHING, IN MACAO. DRAWING ON EXISTING LITERATURE,  THE STUDY PROPOSES THE FOLLOWING HYPOTHESES: H1: ACCESS TO GREEN ELEMENTS HAS A  POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH POSITIVE AFFECT. H2: TIME SPENT OUTDOORS MODERATES THE  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACCESS TO GREEN ELEMENTS AND POSITIVE AFFECT, IN THAT MORE TIME  SPENT OUTDOORS WILL STRENGTHEN THE RELATIONSHIP. H3: ACCESS TO GREEN ELEMENTS HAS A  NEGATIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH NEGATIVE AFFECT. H4: TIME SPENT OUTDOORS MODERATES THE  RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACCESS TO GREEN ELEMENTS AND NEGATIVE AFFECT, IN THAT MORE TIME  SPENT OUTDOORS WILL WEAKEN THE RELATIONSHIP. A QUANTITATIVE METHODOLOGY UTILISING  CROSS-SECTIONAL SELF-RESPONSE QUESTIONNAIRES WAS EMPLOYED FOR DATA COLLECTION. THE  MEASURES USED WERE PRE-VALIDATED AND TRANSLATED INTO CHINESE THROUGH A RIGOROUS  TRANSLATION AND BACK TRANSLATION PROCESS. THE FINAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 740 PARTICIPANTS  FROM DIFFERENT INDUSTRIES IN MACAO. THE RESULTS HIGHLIGHT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INTEGRATING  NATURAL ELEMENTS IN DAILY LIFE TO PROMOTE FLOURISHING AND POSITIVE AFFECT. THE  IMPLICATIONS OF THESE FINDINGS, BOTH IN THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL TERMS, ARE THOROUGHLY  DISCUSSED. THE FINDINGS OFFER VALUABLE INSIGHTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BIOPHILIC  PRACTICES BY COUNSELLORS, EDUCATORS, HEALTH PROFESSIONALS, URBAN PLANNERS, EMPLOYERS  AND OTHER DECISION MAKERS.