Introduction: A growing body of evidence has associated contact with green spaces with improved mental health and wellbeing in adults. Few studies have also suggested social contact as a potential mechanism underlying health effects of green spaces. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the use of green spaces with self-satisfaction and social contact in adolescents. Towards this aim, it also disentangled the associations for different types of green spaces, evaluated the modification of these associations by socioeconomic status (SES), level of urbanity, and sex, and investigated the mediator role of social contact in the association between use of green spaces and self-satisfaction. Methods: Data were obtained through valid questionnaires from a population-representative sample of 10,856 adolescents (10 to 18 years old) living in urban and rural districts across Iran who participated in the fifth survey of a national school-based surveillance program (CASPIAN-V). Logistic mixed effects models with recruitment centre as the random effect were developed to estimate associations adjusted for relevant covariates. Results: More time spent in green spaces was associated with improved self-satisfaction and social contact. While for the self-satisfaction association, we did not observe any indication for effect modification by sex, SES, and urbanity, there were some suggestions for stronger associations for social contacts for boys and those residing in rural areas or from lower SES groups. Social contact could explain more than half of the association between green space use and self-satisfaction. Conclusions: Longer time spent in green spaces was associated with enhanced self-satisfaction and social contact. Social contact could possibly act as a mediator for the association between green space use and self-satisfaction. Further longitudinal studies are required to replicate our findings in other populations with different cultures and lifestyle habits.
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