Is nature exposure in autistic adults associated with more positive body image?

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that exposure to natural environments is associated with more positive body image, but such work has invariably centred the experiences of neurotypical adults and bodies. To rectify this oversight, we examined whether direct and indirect (i.e., mediational) pathways between nature exposure and an index of positive body image (i.e., body appreciation) are significant in autistic adults. A total of 303 autistic adults (age M = 36.69, range 18–75 years) from the United Kingdom completed an online survey that included measures of nature exposure, body appreciation, self-compassion, and nature connectedness, as well as sociodemographic variables. Structural equation modeling was used to test a hypothesised parallel mediation model in which self-compassion and connectedness to nature, respectively, mediated the association between nature exposure and body appreciation. Results showed that connectedness to nature, but not self-compassion, mediated the relationship between nature exposure and body appreciation. This finding was robust to sensitivity analyses and consistent across participants who identified as women and men. These results suggest that nature exposure is associated with more positive body image in autistic adults, which practitioners may find useful in designing population-specific nature-based interventions.