sensory bird interaction has the largest indirect mental health effect via restorative perception
Exact: β = 0.194
Sensory human–bird interaction most strongly boosts mental health indirectly by enhancing restorative environmental perception
While cognitive interaction led on direct mental health benefits, sensory interaction—such as hearing birdsong or observing bird movement—was the most potent driver of the indirect pathway: it most strongly elevated visitors' restorative perception of the environment (REP), which in turn improved mental health. This finding underscores the passive but powerful role of multi-sensory wildlife encounters in urban wetland settings, supporting attention restoration theory.
All three interaction levels significantly enhance mental health, with cognitive interaction showing the strongest direct effect (β = 0.347 ***) and sensory interaction the largest indirect effect through REP (β = 0.194 ***).
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