Dream sharing is a universal practice, and various incentives have been identified, including emotional processing, emotional relief, and demands for containment. Shared dreams can contribute to an individual’s understanding of social reality during traumatic and stressful events. The present study examined dreams shared on social network sites (SNS) during the first COVID-19 lockdown, applying a group-analytic approach. A qualitative dream content analysis conducted by a group of researchers analyzed 30 dreams shared on SNS, focusing on their contents, dominant emotions, and unique group processes. The dream content analysis yielded three meaningful and coherent themes: (1) dominant threats: enemy, danger, and COVID-19; (2) emotional fusion: confusion and despair alongside recovery and hope; and (3) group processes characterized by movement between being alone and being together. The results deepen our understanding of both unique social and psychological group processes and of people’s main experiences and key psychological coping mechanisms in times of collective trauma and natural disasters. They also demonstrate the transformative potential of dreamtelling for individuals’ coping experiences and building hope through the creative social relationships formed within SNS groups. The COVID-19 pandemic has been shown to be associated with a significant increase in individual and community psychological distress globally, nationally, and internationally, e.g., , they haPsychoanalytic theories originating with Freud  have shaDream shared around the tribal campfire are understood from ancient times as means of bonding, learning, and coping ,15. InteFrom a group-analytic viewpoint, SNS represent a web of relationships linking individuals to each other in a matrix structure . The matDreaming and dreamtelling are seen in contemporary group theories, as a form of communication, where group members request containment , needed When employing the dreamtelling approach to the first COVID-19 lockdown on SNS, four phases can be characterized . In the The present study is a novel attempt to consider both the adaptive function of dreaming ,36, espeFive dream sharing groups were located on Facebook: “Covid19 Dreams”, “Dreams in Solitary”, “IASD: International Association for the Study of Dreams”, “Pandemic Dream Sharing Group”, and “350 Dreamers”. Of these groups, two were already active before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the remaining three were specifically created for sharing dreams during the first lockdown imposed by the World Health Organization between 17 March and 22 May 2020. From the total dream cohort presented in these platforms, we filtered out dreams that were shorter than a few lines, leaving us with a corpus of 120 dreams suitable for analysis from which a sample of 30 dreams was randomly selected. The research group included six researchers: two supervising clinical psychologists, one of whom is also a group analysis scholar, two clinical psychology interns, one graduate student in clinical psychology, and, in order to gain a sociocultural perspective and a qualitative perspective, one anthropologist. This structure was designed to enable an integration between theoretical knowledge, clinical knowledge, and empirical experience. Nineteen group meetings were held, during which one of the researchers wrote a protocol detailing the main themes of group interactions and processes.The data were analyzed by applying a qualitative dream content analysis process. Transcripts were read as hard copies by the research group members. Initial readings were made aloud in order to hear the dreams in a more vivid way and to inhabit the reflective posture of in-dwelling more strongly . Notes wFollowing Kron et al. , the resThe research group conducted and documented an open reflexive discourse regarding the processes and experiences that arose during the analysis. This open process enabled us to extract important themes and insights that the structured content analysis did not. Following Creswell et al. , we thenThe dream content analysis yielded three meaningful and coherent themes: (1) dominant threats: enemy, danger, and COVID-19; (2) emotional fusion: confusion and despair alongside recovery and hope; and (3) group processes characterized by movement between being alone and being together. As expected, many of the SNS lockdown dreams referred to coping with hazards related to this period, referring either implicitly to an enemy, danger, or risk or explicitly to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of the dreams related vicariously to the situation, and thus the dominant threat was portrayed as an enemy, namely ordinary humans from whom the dreamer needed to escape. For example, one dream described how the enemy appears and ends up killing the dreamer:I was jumping up trying to bat it [a key] out from underneath when a woman walked up……She said, “I’ll get that for you” and knocked it down with a stick, except what she was holding wasn’t a key but some sort of syringe. Her expression changed and she suddenly slammed this thing into my forehead with a wry, cruel smirk and injected something into me: “Didn’t expect that did you, bitch?”. As I fell back, I knew I was dying.And in the middle of setting it up…my co-worker had a severe medical issue, possibly a heart attack”. Others associated the danger and threat with elements of the natural environment . In such dreams, the dreamer described a struggle with forces greater and stronger than themself and the danger of falling: “The tiger was coming through the window”; “I was driving down a winding road in heavy rain. The windshield wipers were mesmerizing”; “The road had no shoulder; there were only steep cliffs down to the sea”.Some dreams portrayed the unexpected health or medical risks threatening the dreamer: “In the explicit COVID-19 dreams, threats featured as the risk of contagion when the dreamer was caught up in a crowd gathering, often with people who were not adhering to the social distancing regulations:I was taking a walk and groups of people kept coming closer and closer……My attempts to ask them to move away felt like wind rather than words.Next, I was in a room of people talking to a man who started coughing, and during our conversation we figured out that he had contracted the virus and had now possibly infected everyone in the room…I felt scared…not knowing what to do next.All these quotes indeed demonstrate the emergence in dreams of reactions evoked by the ongoing health threat.I began to panic…for some reason this discovery [of the chaotic reality] filled me with total horror”; “I was concerned about the locking up”.Dreamers manifested an emotional fusion which comprised mostly negative emotions but, nonetheless, also quite a few positive feelings. This demonstrates the relational fusion and confusion which has been found dominant during traumatic times . The exp“I watch [the goose] desperately hoping it can fly up, but it’s clear it can’t. I’m very sad”; “She was desperately looking for someone to sub that class…. The conversation between us ended, and I went back to the yoga room feeling upset”; “The landscape is confusing to us”. In some dreams, these emotions were accompanied by descriptions of damage and destructiveness: “I looked around the ruined, out-of-control room …somehow he ripped all the wall around it …which he had opened up in a completely destructive way”.Other negative emotions of despair, helplessness, and confusion were also prevalent: “I make it over the rough earth”—or the ability to gain pleasure from things that the dreamer still feels in control of—“I’m having fun getting in the holiday spirit though”. Likewise, family members were also sometimes depicted positively. Examples included references to marriage and connections with parents: “I was sitting at my own wedding…all I could remember was my mum smiling at me when I asked her who I was marrying”. The following quote may be seen to demonstrate both the wish for regeneration and the ability to recover: “The bird has recovered…I’m happy that it has recovered enough to return to the wilderness”. Finally, an explicit sense of victory was also expressed: “I awoke feeling like I’d truly defeated something and feeling really happy and regenerated”; “I woke up very happy”.Positive feelings represented either success despite the difficulties and threat—“I am walking around a small city by myself at night…. There were no other people”. Some exemplified the feeling of being distanced from others in more indirect metaphoric ways: “I start to drive around and find that large piles of rough earth have been placed at and around the exit, preventing easy access to the main road”. Beyond the fact that the dreamer is stuck and alone, the metaphor of the “main road” can be interpreted as a place with the presence of other people in contrast to the lonely place where the dreamer is located.Many dreams expressed feelings of being alone and isolated from others: “I saw something move by the window…it was a little girl but I couldn’t see her face so I moved a bit closer and it moved back…so I couldn’t see the face”. Longing for others but being distanced from them while also sensing the danger accompanying these relationships was also illustrated in the following segment of the same dream: “I am standing looking at a Noah’s Ark-type huge wooden boat, it’s empty in front of me. I woke up so sad that even in the safe space that dreams afford, I couldn’t experience closeness”. The allusion to the Noah’s Ark myth represents both a catastrophe as well as repair and renewal. The ark, populated by couples, may be understood as a symbol of relationship vitality and rebirth [A desire for the presence of others but the impossibility of these relationships was manifested in many dreams:  rebirth ; yet, as rebirth .“Meeting with friends on a grassy hilltop each of us wearing a gold ring with a mechanical bumblebee attached. We held our hands together, and the bumblebees went buzzing off with hope”. This movement between being alone and being together describes the dreamers’ growing ability to experience ambivalence toward others , which is considered the beginning of adequate mental health [Other dreams related more explicitly to the desire for interpersonal contact as a protection against anxiety and as a source of hope: l health . The abiThen I found myself driving through the streets…On the way out of town I saw a person in need of help, so I stopped and got out. More people came asking for my help, so I gave them what I could find in the car  and said I wished I had more to give, but they were grateful for my offerings. At some point, I also remember seeing children swimming with dolphins and a rainbow in the distance.While coping with a threatening episode, the dreamer derives comfort, protection, and potency from belonging to others and saving those who are in need. This results in a more hopeful, albeit fantastical, ending. Some dreams exemplified recurrent manifestations of omnipotence and magical experiences: I was woken up by God and told I’m in the part after the end of the world; I realize it would be faster to fly, so I put my arms by my sides with my fingers out and palms pointing to the earth which helps me levitate. It’s been a while since I’ve flown so it takes me time to remember how to lift myself high over the tree line.These manifestations may be understood as coping mechanisms; as they are beyond everyday threats and reality, they provide identity, hope, and relief. In addition to the themes extracted from the content of the dreams, we also formulated two more sub-themes through the research group reflexive analysis regarding the processes and experiences of movement between being alone and being together: oscillation between fragmented and coherent structures and oscillation between rejection and belonging.During the research group members’ encounters with each dream, a chaotic “Tower of Babel” feeling arose, as if the dreams were attacking our ability to think and understand. Reactions to the initial dream readings were characterized by bewilderment—“what is this nonsense?”—as well as a sense of fragmentation and despair—“nothing will come out of it”. This tension between fragmented and coherent structures was also expressed in our discussions regarding the analyzing method of the dreams, which ranged from structured dream content analysis to a free and interpretive associative discussion. Some group members expressed discomfort with the structured method, fearing it might reduce richness and complexity; others expressed difficulty with the “chaos” and lack of boundaries involved in the open discussion which was perceived as preventing “scientific” analysis. We found ourselves immediately alluding to the myth of Babel, thus illustrating Bion’s notion of the attack on linking, according to which the link between the individual and the group may come under attack from different directions . HoweverDuring research group meetings there was rapid movement between experiences of agreement and belonging, on the one hand, and a sense of total disagreement, on the other hand. Although the research group’s crystallization process led to an increased sense of togetherness and belonging to a small community, fears of exclusion and rejection were also apparent. The inevitable disagreements between members were experienced at times as risky, leading to over-involvement with its accompanying fear of excessive exposure and exclusion. As central features of resonance, these emotions were understood to represent strong identification with, to return to the earlier allusion, both those who were invited into Noah’s Ark and those whom Noah had to reject .The aim of the current study was to explore oneiric life shared on SNS during the first COVID-19 lockdown. We used an epistemological group-analytic approach to conduct content analysis and investigate unique group processes. The findings demonstrate dominant expressions of threats and dangers, such as enemies and COVID-19. Furthermore, the emotional fusion of both negative emotions, such as confusion and despair, and positive feelings such as recovery and hope was detected. The unique group processes produced by both the content and the research group’s reflexive analyses were characterized by the movement between being alone and being together, between fragmented and coherent structures, and between rejection and belonging. “heroes fighting on the front line in a battle” [Generally, the resulting first two themes resemble current pandemic dream research which testified to the presence of expressions of threatening events and death in general  and, spe battle” ,49. More battle” . As expected, the explicit reference to COVID-19 featured the dreamer or a person close to them at risk of contagion from an unfamiliar stranger or a crowd acting malevolently or thoughtlessly and stressed the need to escape ,47,51. YOur findings regarding the emotional content of dreams correspond with recent research on dreams during COVID-19, which found negative emotions, such as sadness, depression, confusion, anxiety, and the experience of helplessness, to be more prevalent than positive emotions, e.g., ,51,53. PHowever, in the present study, alongside the dominant negative feelings, the dreams also included positive and pleasant emotions of success, fun, and recovery. This striving for competence and regeneration may reflect the dreamers’ conscious and subconscious want and wish to be freed from isolation and to return to known forms of interpersonal and physical closeness . It may From a group-analytic perspective, our findings further show dreams to reflect a collective cultural product ,27,49 whExperiences of loss, abandonment, and damage are, therefore, associated with anxieties of fragmentation in oscillation with anxieties regarding relational fusion and confusion . For exaThe emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for social distancing, which led to face-to-face group meetings being replaced with virtual settings worldwide, motivated many people to share dreams in designated groups. This suggests both their unconscious requests for containment from others and their efforts or demands for influence on them . SpecifiThe unconscious request to influence others (the dream audience) was expressed by the dreamers’ need to be released from the isolation and inactivity forced by the lockdown and to be part of or be with others who share similar but also different experiences. The exchange, mirroring, and resonance reciprocal responses strengthened the dreamers’ and the audience’s sense of belonging and enabled a benign transformation from loneliness and personal isolation into a more meaningful dialogue . MoreoveThe use of group-analytic phenomenology allowed us-authors and research group members- to gain insight into the emotional experience of the group and to better understand how our individual emotions were connected to the collective experience of the group. This helped us to find a sense of belonging and support within the group, which provided a sense of containment and helped us to navigate the challenging circumstances of the pandemic. Moreover, this phenomenology enabled us to translate  what hadAside from these contributions, the present study has several limitations that should be taken into consideration. First, the cross-sectional research design did not enable an examination of thematic changes over time . Second, we specifically chose dreams that were rich enough to allow us to observe the functions of the dream and the attitudes toward the dreams. Third, factors associated with different motives for sharing dreams were not observed. This selection process and the fact that we used dreams shared online might have biased the results toward dreams with richer content shared by people with a particular interest in dream sharing and psychology. Nonetheless, the results of the present study suggest that further investigation, using both qualitative and quantitative methods, is needed to explore the dynamics of group dreamtelling in various contexts, including different settings, conflicts, cultures, and groups of people. Moreover, longitudinal dreamtelling studies including both psychophysiological measures such as heart rate variability or the tonic/phasic skin conductance, and psychological measures evaluating the motives for sharing dreams  may furtThe findings of the current study demonstrate the nature of dreams as both an individual and a collective cultural product that enables the exploration and detection of the unique social and psychological group processes manifested during times of stress and collective trauma. Furthermore, studying dreams shared on SNS showed how this matrix enabled the individual dreamer to further the containment of dominant personal and social anxieties while discovering new multipath routes back to the wider society. This illuminates once more the transformative potential of dreamtelling and the importance of group psychology frameworks for studying human reactions to major traumas and their role in contemporary societal movements. We hope that these findings will stimulate further group-oriented dream research on, in particular, collective traumatic events and the function of dreams to facilitate affective coping.


Green zones are potential contributors to health by mitigating disparities between low- and high-income neighborhoods. Against the background of different discourses about city parks—parks as restorative environments, parks as enabling places, and parks as sites for encounters between strangers—we ethnographically studied the coproduction of green spaces and health within low-income neighborhoods. We found three competing notions of urban green, each tied to different notions of neighborhood well-being. Parks as “clean spaces” create expectations of order and peace; parks as places of the community are related to play and activities; and parks as urban stage foster interactions between strangers. By generating experiences that encompass different conceptions of health, citizen-led events can contribute to a shift in the understanding of parks as sites of neighborhood decline to parks as places of hope and new beginnings. The health benefits of green zones make urban greening an attractive strategy to address persistent health disparities between low- and middle- or high-income neighborhoods , 2. UrbaSuccessfully addressing health disparities through urban greening requires more than the availability of green spaces as such –11. WherTo strengthen the understanding of urban greening as a strategy to address health disparities, we did an ethnographic study in three low-income neighborhoods in Maastricht, the Netherlands. To capture the “mutually reinforcing and reciprocal relationship between people and place.” we adopted a relational view of parks that pays attention to the narratives about health and green spaces that coproduce local parks . By focuIn the following, we introduce three influential scientific discourses on health and parks. Next, we introduce the research setting and our ethnographic method. Thereafter, we present the research results; and finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the health potentials of urban green spaces in low-income neighborhoods.Health scholarship that emerged in the 1980s and 1990s researched the link between health and green environments through the notion of restorative environments. Ulrich’s classical study demonstrates a significant decrease in recovery time from surgery for patients assigned a hospital room with a green view . By elabIn a second approach, researchers have studied the interactions of individuals with their environments , 24. An Restorative and enablement approaches theorize the health benefits of parks as offering what much of daily city life supposedly lacks: beauty and quiet or community, respectively. A third, urbanist approach, on the other hand, treats parks as an integral part of the wider urban landscape. The quality of a park is determined not solely by its design or perceived naturalness but by its integration with surrounding amenities . Like sqOur research setting comprised three postwar neighborhoods built around 1960 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The neighborhoods are characterized by their parochial design, i.e., church and shops in the center. However, over the years, many public facilities have disappeared. Green spaces constitute another main characteristic of the neighborhoods, which encompasses two designated parks, a few off-leash dog areas, and many so-called “green floors” and “green wedges”.The three neighborhoods are quite diverse; more than 40% of the residents are migrants, of whom 23% have a non-Western background. All three neighborhoods are currently regarded as low-income and local public health statistics show a high burden of disease. Around 40% of all neighborhood residents have a chronic disease compared to the city average of 26%. Unemployment, loneliness, and disability percentages reveal a similar pattern .Since 2017, neighborhood residents and researchers from the University of Maastricht work together as “University with the Neighborhood” to facilitate an exchange of ideas about neighborhood well-being. In 2018, the working group Social Green, consisting of citizens and researchers, was founded to transform asocial green spaces into social green zones, with an initial focus on a neighborhood park. To transform this park, the working group engaged in dialogue with other residents and experimented with potential uses of the park in 2019, like a performance by a local folk singer, a neighborhood talk show, an informal pop-up tea garden, an outdoor philosophy café, campfires, and dancing in the park. In cooperation with the working group, an additional group of volunteers and social workers organized a neighborhood campsite to bring people from different life worlds together. Inhabitants of the neighborhoods bordering the park were invited to camp in the park for two nights and participate in numerous activities, such as a barbecue, a campfire, theater, and tai chi lessons. Residents of the three studied neighborhoods were informed about the events by means of flyers, social media, and local news media. Working group activities were free of charge; participation in the campsite event required a fee of 15 euros, with a 50% discount for those on social benefits.This article draws on 3 years of ethnographic fieldwork between 2017 and the beginning of 2020. The first author conducted 15 walking interviews  with neiWe acquired consent for all interviews and audio-recorded evaluation meetings. Additionally, all participants were informed about the nature and aims of the research throughout the research process. This disclosure abided by established codes of conduct in anthropology, which views informed consent as an ongoing process . DetaileThe analysis showed that the meaning of neighborhood green spaces is contested. Against broader narratives of neighborhood decline, green spaces were constructed as unclean and uncared for, as (not) enabling community interactions, and as places that open up new horizons of neighborhood life.“If, in the summer, you come back from work, or you enter the neighborhood – yes, that is a breath of fresh air.” “On that account, living in the neighborhood is good (…); so much green, they hardly have that anywhere (...). Yes, I am very happy with that.” Living in a green neighborhood can be a salutary privilege, especially in the summer season.“It is a shame that it [the park] is neglected. At least when I moved here, it was really nice, with roses. It was called a rosarium (...).But well; they apparently stopped spending money on that.” While residents regarded their green neighborhood as a source of pride, they also expected green spaces to be neat and well maintained. Unfortunately, the daily reality rarely lived up to this expectation. Especially the decay of a local pond turned into a swamp, and a rose garden, now in ruins, were experienced as a loss.Dumped rubbish, discarded needles, dog feces, and broken benches do not only impede mobility and spoil the beauty of neighborhood green spaces, they were highlighted as representing residents’ concerns about the state of their neighborhood and emblematic of its disappearance from the municipality’s radar. While showing the interviewer a site that was overgrown with weeds and littered with derelict benches and rubbish, one resident described his experience as follows:“These are hidden neighborhoods actually. But we [do] live here.” .On the other hand, some residents experienced such “hiddenness” as a blessing. One interviewee in particular stressed how he found peace in the poorly maintained park, as it kept the crowds away. Another resident, who walked the park regularly, described it as one of the few places where local alcoholics, who were not hurting anyone, were tolerated.“The green (...) used to be sprayed. And then it was clean; [however], they are not allowed to do that anymore.” The experience of neglect was not only manifested in relation to a lack of maintenance per se but also stemmed from the municipality’s recent ecological approach to city–nature, which does not support clean green environments:“Many (...) see it as yes, ticks and this and that, and people are afraid of ticks at the moment. We always played in the grass in my youth (...), but this is an eye sore to many residents; they do not understand what the idea is, or they are scared.” Ecological policies, like not mowing the grass, are controversial. Some parents do not let their children play on high grass.Thus, some residents pointed out that by relinquishing the means to control city–nature, nature intrudes private realms and raises health concerns.“Please do you call this a park, a waste of land!!! Gravel and asphalt everywhere (…) a park is supposed to be beautiful with trees, lots of plants maybe a pond or something like that. A park is nature!! This is just UGLY!!! A disgrace for the neighborhood I live in.” Residents who understood the connection between parks and well-being as a matter of cleanliness demanded that city green spaces constituted a well-controlled backdrop, nonintrusive and risk free. “Clean” parks however may clash with a wish for naturalness. Some residents contested the clean look of a newly developed park with large lawns, asphalt walking paths, few trees, and no bushes:Members of the Social Green working group also considered a “clean” park to be uninviting and met with municipal landscape architects to discuss the introduction of more natural diversity. A few months later, 46 new trees were planted, and a citizen initiative was started to monitor the butterfly population in the wilder flower field, slowly changing the park’s appearance.“(...) as soon as you would leave school (...) it was like, at that and that time, we are at the field (…) than we played rounders, and you received extra points when you hit the high-rise building.” Interviewees also emphasized the social life of green zones, often by talking about children’s play. While passing a green patch of grass surrounded by row houses, one resident described how it was once a real hotspot for children:“Look, it used to be like this – say, the football club, that was a football club – [but] it was actually a place where people would meet each other (...). There was a wooden shed, and over there was a canteen. You could play table football, and those people [older men] came there to play cards.” Parks were also remembered as a social place for adults. While passing an empty park, one resident shared a memory of the football club that used to be located there. Half of the neighborhood once gathered here on Saturdays:“Well [usually] they [other residents] just pass (...), but when someone passes who also owns a dog, then it is better, then you have something to say (...). Yes, a pet is actually important.” Residents’ descriptions of spontaneous and playful interactions indicate that, in the past, green spaces were social spaces. However, sports clubs moved outside of the neighborhoods, small shops closed down, and many children now attend schools elsewhere. Currently, without supportive social infrastructures, empty stretches of grass offer residents few opportunities to watch, meet, and interact with others. Dogs and their owners represent a notable exception. Dogs give people a reason to leave their houses and create the rare occasion to engage in a conversation:Dog owners especially make new acquaintances in off-leash areas. Not unlike other park users; however, they are often dissatisfied with the quality of off-leash areas, for which the municipality has declined requests for streetlights and benches. Moreover, unlike the football club in earlier days, the loose community of dog owners does not attract other park users.“It is possible to manage a piece of public green, with the aim to bring the green to a higher level (...). It is best when you start working on public green together with neighbors, or even the whole street. This will make the environment belong more to you together.” Can current neighborhood parks contribute to building a new neighborhood community? The municipality thinks that this is the case and considers citizen participation an important means for park improvement.“[F]or my part, they asphalt it [the park] completely.” (field notes)This message, however, does not resonate with those residents who, after witnessing the dumping of rubbish and vandalism for years, feel that cleaning up green spaces is the municipality’s responsibility. Some have given up on the park’s potential as a social space altogether:“People miss the sociability (...) the municipality is a little hypocritical, saying you can’t do Christmas tree burning anymore, it is too close to the neighborhood. Well look at the open spaces there [pointing to the wedge] (…). Yes, I think the municipality wants citizens to do things themselves, but (…) they crush initiatives.” Moreover, some residents noted that citizen initiatives are often restricted by municipal policies. Difficulties surrounding a New Year’s Eve neighborhood tradition close to a green wedge provide an example of municipal policies that ultimately make the neighborhood belong less to residents:Grass, in other words, does not grow communities. Green spaces need to function as social infrastructures conducive to communities gathering for play and relaxation. Like the football club in its heyday, campfires can attract people, almost without effort. Realizing this, in 2019, citizens and researchers organized temporary transformations of one of the neighborhood parks.“The park was emptied of dog faeces and other rubbish by volunteers and a steel construction was transformed into a reception desk to welcome guests’. Larger and smaller tents occupied the grass, and the in-between space was used for activities like yoga and puppeteer performances. A large tree turned into a stage for circus acts, and free second-hand gifts were hung in a “gift” tree. The off-leash area became a sheepfold, now forbidden for dogs but open for children who wanted to cuddle the sheep.” (field notes)Activities organized by citizens in one neighborhood park in 2019 aimed to transform the park into a social destination, which eventually led neighborhood residents to see the neighborhood in a new light. First, the citizen-led activities transformed the park from a display of decline into a social space amenable to rearrangement and reinvention. The campsite, for a weekend, turned the park into a completely new place:The summer events that followed the campsite, similarly created new configurations of people by temporarily redesigning the park. For example, a pop-up tea garden succeeded “to make encounters happen” by attracting older people looking for an opportunity to chat.“Those tree trunks [in the park] – that is a success (...). They [children] are still dragging them around (…).” Some elements that remained after the activities had ended continued to bring small changes to the park, such as the installation of a few tree trunks for people to sit on:Creating a new setting did not mean that vandalism was no longer a risk. Willow huts were destroyed not long after they had been built. As building as well as playing in them had brought people together, the working group, however, concluded that “it has done its job.”“Together with the people, it was simply an experience of togetherness.” (participant).The citizen-led events also generated new or forgotten forms of sociability. Although initially, many residents greeted the announcement of the campsite with some skepticism, after witnessing its construction, many offered to help, for example by bringing wood for the campfire. As a campsite participant described her experience:The events succeeded, as a resident put, in “getting people out of their houses”—no small achievement in their neighborhood. Seeing how one could participate stimulated others to do so.Finally, the park events not only permitted a temporary escape from daily life but also supported residents to imagine new beginnings. The campsite, for example, included a fortune teller, and, on a decorated altar in a circus tent, the opportunity was given for participants to marry for a day. One couple used this opportunity to spiritually reconfirm their marriage, as the husband had just returned from rehab. The events illuminated possible new futures for neighborhood life as well. Residents were proud that “finally, something had happened” in their neighborhoods, which brought together different ethnicities, young and old, healthy and unhealthy. Participants described the campsite as a sublime experience: an achievement that was “just like a movie,” “a culture trip,” and in which “everything happened naturally.” They had become part of a new, uplifting sort of neighborhood, one positively portrayed by local media, endorsed by municipal officials, and “discovered” by people from outside of the neighborhoods. Most importantly, participants noted that they now knew and greeted more neighbors, making the events and their outcomes palpable even after the last elements had been removed from the park.Our analysis of residents’ experiences of green spaces in three low-income neighborhoods highlights three different coproductions of health and parks. First, residents expected the park to be “clean spaces.” From the perspective of restorative environments, “clean spaces” express a desire for order. However, rather than forming an escape from neighborhood nuisances, poorly maintained green spaces served as a constant reminder of the neighborhood’s problems . Second,By highlighting how different conceptions of green spaces intersect, our study contributes to a multilayered understanding of the health potential of urban greening. First, our analysis contributes to research examining the health-promoting character of green spaces as shaped by social environments and narratives , 38, 39.Secondly, by drawing on more than one academic tradition, i.e., psychology, anthropology, and urban sociology, our study aligns with studies that understand health as multiple and embedded in local practices –43. ThisFinally, our research underscores that the health benefits of urban green spaces in low-income neighborhoods can only be realized when struggles over the social meanings of green spaces are taken seriously. Building on literature on the role of parks in stimulating contact between different (ethnic) groups, we found that although multilayered park narratives can be competitive, they are neither immutable nor mutually exclusive , 32, 44.


This study investigates the flow of energy-related information, which plays a vital role in promoting the public understanding and support for various energy sources. Through 12 focus group discussions with the public and energy experts, this study found that energy information flows from scientists to the public through both direct  and indirect  channels. However, communication gaps remain between scientists and the public. First, the public commonly obtains information from personal experience and the media but not directly from scientists. Second, while the public stressed the importance of mass media and social media, only a few experts reported writing news commentaries or making social media posts about energy. Third, while scientists emphasize their relationships with the government and other agencies in disseminating information, the public shows relatively weak trust in these agencies. Implications are made for future research and public communication on energy issues. The COVID-19 pandemic saw reductions in the energy consumption across major cities in Asia and across the world. In particular, research found that restrained use of traditional energy sources during the pandemic significantly reduced air pollution . But as Therefore, intergovernmental organizations and nature conservationists have been pushing for new energy resources, not only as a way to tackle environmental problems, but also to encourage economic growth through energy efficiency and sustainability . HoweverScience communication studies have examined the public’s role through two dominant public engagement models; one assumes the public to be deficient in knowledge and thus needs to be educated, while the other sees the public as having the potential to be actively involved . While tThis study seeks to explore how energy-related information flows in a non-western context, focusing on Southeast Asia. This brings into focus two objectives. First, with heavy reliance on fossil resources, Southeast Asian governments are promoting renewable energy as the region is endowed with a rich variety of natural resources –17. HoweFocusing on the three neighboring countries, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia—whose energy supply mix are interconnected; Singapore, for example, gets some of its energy supply from these two countries—this current study draws from a series of focus group discussions to understand 1) how scientists disseminate energy information, 2) how the public acquires energy information, and 3) how the approaches used by scientists to disseminate information compare with those used by the public to acquire it. The last question aims to reveal the information gaps between scientists and the public. Only by detecting the gaps can we better inform future efforts to focus on approaches that may be under-utilized.Communication scholars have often delved into the relationship between scientists and the public in two dimensions—examining the direction and stages involved in the communication process. Regarding the direction, studies have suggested two models—a one-way or top-down model and a two-way dialogical model, each involving varied levels of public engagement . The oneAs a solution, scholars proposed dialogue and participatory models, emphasizing public engagement in science beyond mere communication to consultation and participation . In the The scientist-public communication is a matter not merely of direction but also involves specific processes and stages. In fact, studies have shown that different models can coexist , making Scientific information flows either linearly through a specific medium or dispersedly through multiple channels . StudiesDirect flows involve direct messaging from scientists to the public through channels more relevant and efficient to the scientists .” Further, our analysis found that scientists’ socialization can be achieved through both direct contacts with the public and via information agents.One approach for scientists to directly reach the public was through on-ground projects. M4P3, based in Malaysia, recalled physically heading to villages and remote areas to give information to the local residents: “When I go to that particular village… We have to see what are current situations, and from there we can comment on what types of energy can be suitable particularly for them [sic].” M4P6 also spoke about promotional roadshows and tours in collaboration with the ministry: “Every time we are part of Ministry of Science’s road tour… Currently we don’t have nuclear energy in Malaysia, so we promote the technology [sic].”Additionally, social media platforms are also adopted by some scientists to spread information, though this was not common in our interviews. I4P4, an expert from Indonesia, talked about using audio- and visual-based social media platforms:“I have a podcast that focuses on the energy field. So, the main function of a podcast, Geoinsight, is to communicate things and information that might be basic to the public… It is the public communications on the media podcast and YouTube [sic].”Interestingly, while a direct flow is always associated with interpersonal contacts in both physical and online settings, it is not the most sought-after route of energy information. Instead, scientists more often expressed the use of indirect flows, involving agents like mass media, education, the government, and other decision-makers to reach the public.Here, scientists provide energy information to a third-party agent of socialization who, in turn, distributes secondhand information to the public. A frequently mentioned way was through professional teaching and peer socialization. Scientists share their findings among researchers, industry-based experts, and interested media professionals. By teaching college students and technicists, practical information is conveyed to industrial and private sectors. In these activities, however, it is not clear to the scientists whether the information ultimately reaches the masses. While they listed these activities as practices to disseminate information, they may not necessarily contribute to public information accessibility unless other agents further channel the information.More efficient ways are through government, public sectors, and industries, like M4P1 described: “To all types of stakeholders in one time. To the industries that cover more than 1000 companies in Malaysia… Other times, communicate to the government on how and why we should annex this kind of law [sic].”The government served as a key agent of scientific information. When scientists discussed disseminating their findings, they spoke more about sharing information with the government and policymakers rather than the public. S4P3 from Singapore said, “We regularly hold classes and courses for regional policymakers, where, obviously, I teach the part on solar, we’re trying to put it in perspective: I touch on nuclear, I touch on gas, and the other sources.” This shows the healthy and regular dialogues between researchers and decision-makers in Singapore, which is reaffirmed by S4P6 saying, “I’ve done forums, I’ve done conferences, I’ve done one-on-one talks with various, you know, decision-makers in the government.”While not as evident or sought after, one more agent used in public communication has been mass media, including mainstream and social media. Stepping away from the more academic platforms such as scientific reports, journals, or forums, scientists have reported using mass media channels to disseminate information to the public. For example, scientists have increasingly used newspapers and news websites in their related fields. S4P8 added: “I’ve been writing policy briefs, commentaries, and also Channel News Asia interviews, and actually, I just finished one filming on Thursday with Channel News Asia.”Another agent that comes to the forefront is the educational sector, whose association with experts has been traditionally strong, like I4P1 said, “I am from an educational campus, so I connect a lot with the educators. . . . We are a part of making the public concerned that there is an issue in the field of energy.” Participants illustrated their experiences of attending forums and discussions, writing papers, and making publications. Through these scholarly activities, scientific information reaches different levels of education as schools, colleges, and training sectors.RQ2 asked about the information sources that the public accessed for energy-related information. While some evidence suggested the direct flow of information through personal experience, an indirect flow of information through information agents remained consistent. In the interpersonal context, the information goes through human agents such as teachers, friends, and families. In contrast, in the mass media context, information is transmitted with the assistance of media agents, including books, news media, the Internet, etc.Daily activities and life experiences serve as a source of scientific knowledge in many fields . In thisNevertheless, we found that these experiences are difficult for people to recall unless they were asked to do so. For example, when asked about information sources, S1P10 said, “It just seems like we know so well, like air that we breathe; I find it very hard to pinpoint exactly where.” As a result, such information is latent and needs a trigger for people to retrieve. For instance, I2P3 added wind to his list of energy when telling his life episode, “In 2019 I went to Dieng, to the Cikunir mountain. There is an electrical energy generator from geothermal…there was a windmill …oh, the wind can also be transformed into energy!”Routine and accidental exposures to energy information have not only contributed to one’s knowledge but also led to active information-seeking through other channels. For instance, exposure to energy-related messages primed S3P10 with more interest in energy-related content in the media, as he said, “I think a lot of us watch Discovery, National Geo… I travel a lot as well, so I see alternate (energy) sources overseas, which kept me interested in the large windmills, the dams, etc. [sic]”Unlike personal experiences which is often fragmented and random, interpersonal agents usually provide information systematically through social networks. Among the most mentioned agents, primary and secondary schools were especially pervasive in the discussion of young-age groups. In Singapore, some participants precisely mentioned school classes of Geography and Chemistry. S1P5 recalled, “For the combustion of fossil fuels or natural gas it’s through Chemistry; whereas the rest of the like uh so-called more environmentally friendly ones are like solar, wind, geothermal from Geography.”Interpersonal settings also include universities and workplaces, where people get professional training or give professional services. Information from these agents is not available to the general population but only to those in energy-related fields. Here, educational agents range from polytechnics and universities in Singapore (S1P4) to online training courses and seminars provided in Malaysia (M2P8). The workplace agents are widely distributed across industries, including energy and engineering companies, NGOs, research entities, and even in therapist clinics, coconut businesses, or the stock market.Knowledge about energy is also shared among family members, like I1P4 said, “Sometimes I tend to ask the husband or parents.” Schools provide scientific information not only to teenage students but also to their parents who get involved in the reciprocal process of family tutoring. This was particularly relevant to participants in the mid-aged groups, whose children took them along to explore new energy resources they had never encountered before. Sharing her experience, S2P7 said about her motivated information seeking:“I still have a son in secondary school. So, when they learn geography and all, you get to learn all these terms too. So, as he asked me questions, I need to surf the net, so that’s how we find out more.”Acquisition of energy information can either be active or passive. These examples show that active information seeking can be either task-oriented (tutoring) or interest-driven (TV or trips). Such motivated behaviors allowed participants to absorb information beyond the given context, guiding them to broaden their access to multiple media types.Additionally, energy information was also acquired passively from information sharing among peer groups. Social network sites such as Facebook enabled users to share messages onto their homepages or to other users. Messaging apps have further facilitated information sharing through social networks. Like I3P4 said,“From the (SNS) sharing we will know more complete information… There are those shared to my WhatsApp, for instance… For me, the main thing is indeed sharing, sent often by friends—my friends that have a lot of knowledge send it to me [sic].”Lastly, scientific information is also shared by local community leaders. For example, I2P2 said, “Perhaps it can be transposed to the community leaders in that area, as a lot of people trust their RT (neighborhood unit) head, the priest, the religious leaders. The system as Indonesia is very unique.” This phenomenon is particularly pervasive in underdeveloped areas, where hierarchical interpersonal communication is still dominant.When talking about mediated information, participants reported knowing about energy through various conventional and new media channels, ranging across nations, and age groups. News media was frequently mentioned to provide timely information via newspapers, TV news, and mobile news apps. Notably, the prevalence of cyber technology has altered people’s news attention to online portals, according to I2P7, who described news websites as “a breakfast friend, a lunch friend, a friend when relaxing.”Some participants also mentioned various knowledge-intensive media sources, from textbooks and scientific publications , to digital encyclopedias . Some also talked about learning about energy by watching serial documentaries, especially the National Geographic . Compared with text-based information that is cognitively demanding, the visualization of science through documentaries is more accessible and appealing to the average audience .Entertainment media such as movies and TV programs also contain energy-related information. This kind of exposure to science is incidental, and the embedded information can either be intended or not. For instance, M2P2 came across an energy-related topic in the film Mission Impossible: “Even though it is an action movie but err, if we look at in between the lines, it teaches us how to use erm, air to generate energy, generate electricity.”Lastly, participants showed heavy reliance on the Internet in acquiring energy information. Participants reported gaining information online mainly through search engines and social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.Two reasons account for the informational reliance on social media rests in its networking nature. First, social media can spotlight trending topics, for instance, when a new technological invention comes out, like S1P2 said, “If there’s something going on, then I would see on like the trending page or something.” Second, influencers online can faithfully improve their followers’ awareness and interests in frontier science, triggering more information-seeking behaviors. I2P9 explained the endorsement and role model effect of influencers with her experience:“I am a follower of Mr. Mardigu Wowiek (An Indonesian entrepreneur in oil and gas businesses.) Perhaps all of you know him. Mr. Mardigu is one of my role models. He seems to understand very much about nickel, about the earth’s sources, and he explained, pictured on Instagram about the condition of the earth. After this, I browsed what is this, what is this, nah, this helps a lot.”Another point to address here is also motivation for acquiring information. As it was initially designed, search engines like Google used to require an actual search to find information. Now, empowered by big data and machine learning, search engines sometimes bring accurate recommendations for search or random popups, thus turning the role of the audience into passive receivers of information. This trend is even strengthened on social media platforms, as S1P10 noted, “Social media still has that effect of pushing to you what you often read, so I think that’s how I also get some additional articles.” Social media platforms provide spaces for users to both search and encounter information, like S1P10 explained, “When I use Facebook, I’m a little bit passive. Facebook brings it to me, but when I use YouTube, I go and seek it out.” This shows that users treat and experience various social media platforms in different ways.RQ3 compares the information sources of the public with the information outlets of energy experts. In general, we found both overlaps and gaps and interestingly noted that some information agents are not synchronized or equally valued by the two groups.Scientists disseminate information to the public through several agents including education, mass media, and social media. Especially with education, energy information was well-mediated by schools, universities, and professional training sessions. However, we found that mass media—especially social media—have not been effectively utilized by energy experts. Mass media were availed by the scientists only on limited occasions, such as news interviews, while they were among the most sought-after channels for the public to know about energy, ranging from newspapers to TV documentaries. This mismatch shows the potential of media agents in enhancing science communication. For example, only one energy expert (I4P4) mentioned his use of podcasts and YouTube, suggesting the potential of online spaces for scientists to interact with the public directly.Regarding the channels used, scientists mentioned their direct contact with the public via on-ground projects and road tour campaigns. The public, however, showed no experience or knowledge of such projects. Additionally, the public mentioned learning about energy through their personal experience, but this source of information was not reflected in the responses of energy experts.Regarding connections with third-party stakeholders, scientists underlined their relationship with the government and other companies, whereas these stakeholders were absent from the public’s discussion. The public did not see these actors as sources for them to gain information. Moreover, they expressed concerns about the credibility of third parties, like the striking comment pointed at the government actors by S2P2, “The government will always have their own agenda, but scientists can maintain their scientific neutrality.” Others’ skepticism in the government rose from its shortness of expertise, as M1P3 said, “I do not really believe the ministry, because they are not in that field.”A strong tie between the government and researchers can enhance public trust in the former. Those who see the government as endorsed by or working with research bodies tend to trust information from the government or energy-related departments . Like M1P1 said, “They [government] will not simply place people [researchers] who do not qualify.” A key finding is that governmental actors take their credibility largely from researchers working inside or behind; consequently, it is crucial to involve energy scientists in the communication process.Nevertheless, the data revealed that the government-scientists alliance is far from perfect in providing information. Sometimes, scientists informed the government via documents or forums, giving them the responsibility of public communication. In Singapore, some scientists spoke of their experience of briefing and teaching the policymakers, like S4P7 said, “It has to be the government; it has to be the politicians who step forward and demonstrate that.” However, this is probably the view of scientists alone, as it contradicts the public’s belief that scientists are more reliable than the government in science communication. This displacement of duty signals the scientists to be more aware of their credibility and responsibility in disseminating knowledge, either independently or in cooperation with a third party.This study mapped the gap between the public and the energy scientists by analyzing the channels for acquiring and disseminating energy-related information. Regarding the debate on the models used in science communication, this study examined the public-scientist engagement when it comes to energy-related information. Identifying information agents allowed us to explore their potential in facilitating science communication. Towards this end, we found more evidence for an indirect flow than a direct flow and that some agents are not fully utilized in disseminating energy-related information.In the direct flow, scientists attempted to reach out to the public directly, and the communication is potentially two-way. However, for on-ground projects and campaigns to engage with the public, some scientists may be disappointed by the outcome of their efforts. The on-ground spread of information has always been a task in development communication . In our In the indirect flow, one-way communication was largely retained. Schooling as a socialization agent has received adequate attention from both scientists and the public. Nevertheless, information in this channel moves relatively slowly and cannot continue after one’s school term; recent developments may also take time to be incorporated in formal modules and courses. To keep the public constantly informed, more enduring and efficient channels have been brought forward, such as the media.Digital technologies have removed barriers of space and time in science communication . In our Despite the current social media use of some scientists, their primary goals have been to boost interdisciplinary collaborations , to builAdditionally, scientists should also put forth their opinions by strengthening their alliance with third parties. First, they can work with the government, which usually enjoys more coverage in the mainstream media. Our results show that the presence or absence of scientists in energy policy reports from the government may influence people’s confidence in the policy. Therefore, government by itself may not serve as a credible source of information, and should include scientists’ expert opinions in their media statements or public communication. Similarly, while corporate sectors have invested a lot in developing energy projects, the public tends to be suspicious about information from them. Scientists, often perceived by the public as independent, may be more credible sources of information even for business-related energy claims, something that future studies can continue to probe.Several implications are made for future research, given the limitations of the current study. The first limitation to address is the remainder of the current map of information sources. Although our recruitment adhered to the cluster sampling for both the public and the expert participants, we still could not achieve the maximum variation of the population. We acknowledge the interview-based method cannot exhaust all the relevant channels, leaving gaps for future research to fill, such as by conducting nationwide surveys. Indeed, the results presented here, while grounded in qualitative data, cannot be generalized to the population at large. While generalization is not the goal of this qualitative inquiry, future studies can build on the results presented here to assess trends in the population using national surveys. Second, it is also necessary to specify the difficulties scientists face in communicating knowledge and their motivation for undertaking this task. We found some experts do not see themselves responsible for and capable of communicating science, while others are actively exercising such skills. What brings the different motivations? How does motivation affect scientists’ performance in public communication? These queries should be answered in more focused studies on experts across fields. The last implication points at the role of other science communicators. Another paper from our project examined environmental activists’ role in energy communication. However, it is still unclear how these external actors can boost the connection between scientists and the public and how the public perceives their credibility. As we suggested, the interplays of scientists, the public, and third-party communicators require further insights. Through these, future studies can look into establishing an improved dissemination and reception system of science information to make the public engaged with alternative and emerging energies, including those that have been around but remain underutilized, such as biomass energy.


Physical activity (PA) has many benefits in preventing diseases and maintaining physical and mental health. Women, in particular, can benefit from regular PA. However, women’s PA did not increase over the past decade globally, and the situations faced by women are often gender-specific. Healthy young adult women's PA does not receive as much attention as older women and adolescent girls, yet, they face the same situation of low level of PA. This review aims to explore and synthesise the self-identified barriers and facilitators to young adult women's participation in PA from qualitative research studies and offer suggestions for future studies and programs designed for this population.A systematic search was conducted in Pubmed, Web of Science, Scopus, Medline, and SPORTDiscus for studies published between January 2000 to February 2022 to identify qualitative studies on the barriers and facilitators of young adult women’s PA between ages 18 to 40. The search yielded 694 studies initially, of which 23 were included. The research quality of included studies was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) tool. Data were extracted and thematically analysed based on the tenets of the social-ecological model (SEM).Identified barriers and facilitators were grouped into different levels of the SEM, with the most frequently cited factors being time, body image and societal beauty standards, family duty and social support, religious and cultural norms, organisation and community facilities and environment, safety issues and physical environment. Descriptive data were thematically analysed and synthesised in line with the five levels: body image, health and beauty; multiple roles, support, and PA; religious identity, cultural identity, and PA; safety issues and women’s fears.This qualitative synthesis revealed in-depth information on barriers and facilitators influencing young adult women’s PA. It highlighted that the factors young adult women face are diverse at different levels yet holistic and intertwined. Future studies on young adult women’s PA should address the social-cultural influence and would benefit from applying multilevel strategies employing the SEM model. It is critical to create an open and inclusive environment and offer more opportunities for women.PROSPERO CRD42021290519.The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12966-023-01411-7. It is well-documented that women of all ages benefit from regular physical activity (PA)  in preveDespite research showing that men are biologically more active than women , women’sCompared to other groups of PA, such as children, adolescents, the elderly, and the population with disease, healthy young adults are sometimes overlooked . Recent Research on correlates or determinants of PA has burgeoned and primarily concentrated on individual-level characteristics in high-income countries, namely age, gender, health status, lifestyle, self-efficacy, and motivation . HoweverBased on the above, this study aimed to provide a systematic review of qualitative studies exploring the barrier and facilitators of young adult women’s PA at different levels of SEM for better generalisation and targeting efficiency of PA strategies. The aims were four-fold: 1. describe the characteristics and methodologies of qualitative studies conducted on this topic; 2. identify barriers and facilitators for young adult women’s PA and categorise them into corresponding levels within the SEM; 3. synthesise the narratives from qualitative studies and present themes based on tenets of the SEM; 4. Identify significant barriers and facilitators and their connections to young adult women’s PA.The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines  and the A systematic search of Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science from January 2000 to February 2022 was performed to identify studies that met the inclusion criteria. The search terms included keywords and MeSH headings using Boolean/Phrase on a combination of keywords specifying the physical activity, barriers, facilitators, and young adult women yielded 694 studies. All searches used subject headings where available  qualitative research quality tool . Each study's results were regarded as text in the titled "results," "findings," sections or similar parts. Fort studies’ results not only focused on young adult women (i.e. age from 18 – 60 years) or PA , data were retrieved including 1. results that were identified as specific to women between the ages of 18 and 40; 2. results that claimed to apply to all participants; 3. results only pertinent to PA.The first and second authors independently extracted data from studies and coded the information into Excel and Word templates developed for this study. No other software or services were used to manage the review processes.A combined inductive and deductive approach was applied in the analyses. Two authors independently coded the extracted data line-by-line, using thematic analysis inductively to categorise the data and develop new themes ‘beyond’ the reports from the original studies. A combination of direct-to-analysis and extraction techniques were used in the analysis to avoid preconceptions related to original documents abstracted from the context of articles in which they are embedded . AfterwaThe identified barriers and facilitators of young adult women’s PA were shown in Table “Looking good is the top motivator.” .” [ghter].” In many cases, the eagerness to lose weight and change body image proceeds the willingness to be healthy; initially, it is a powerful drive. Rather than see PA as a good thing, these women see it as a way to achieve the ideal body shape and weight . Particu“It’s great to have the strength and the cardiovascular ability and everything else but you still, you still look funny in your clothes.”  say anything about the amount you should be exercising, just that you should be thin.”  and also for the relationship between mom and children.” .” [e gym].” Family commitment is one of the most significant barriers to the multiple-role situation for young adult women. On the other hand, they perceived any support, especially family support, as a strong facilitator.This helps to explain why young adult women indicate that family support is a crucial facilitator in their PA. When the stress of domestic tasks and caring can be shared with others, time becomes less of an issue, and they may devote more time to themselves. Time restrictions and competing priorities, such as employment, childcare, and household chores, always exist in women's lives. However, picking the priority requires a lot more effort, which cannot be accomplished only by women but by everyone around them.Most studies referred to religious influence in this review on Islam Muslims from various socioeconomic origins, languages, and races. Muslim people commit to their shared faith and continually strive to maintain their identity in non-Islamic, Muslim minority contexts . At the “[Islam] influences almost all [of my everyday decisions]. I always consider what I am doing. Will what I will be doing be Islamicly wrong, or is that okay? …… The Quran, the Holy book…it consists of rules on how you should live your life and you should obey them.”  it’s insults continuously. Because you have men trying to follow you, men trying to ask you this, men trying to say that ...” [hat ...” The gendered safety concern is one of the primary reasons. Sexual harassment and other forms of sexual violence in public spaces are everyday occurrences for women and girls worldwide, leading them to experience stress and fear in settings of everyday life .“Compared to my male cousins, when I was growing up–there are like one or two who are older than me–I think they were allowed to like, go on the road and ride the bike and stuff like that, but we weren’t allowed to go and I knew that was because I was a girl so I think, but I didn’t stop me from–I don’t know how to describe it but I didn’t feel it was a bad thing that they were not letting us go cos I just thought like because they wanted me to be safe.” [e safe.” The fear of sexual victimisation may prevent women to participate in PA in school, work, and public life, limiting their opportunities , 88. Wom“Safety is higher than in KSA and freedom is more so there is a lot of potential for walking.” [alking.” In line with this, women reported that the potential to do outdoor activities or go out is raised when the environment is safer.This qualitative review offered in-depth and holistic evidence of the young adult women's self-identified barriers and facilitators, and there was a relatively even distribution of factors across the five levels of SEM and between barriers and facilitators. The qualitative synthesis showed the contexts of barriers and facilitators and intertwined circumstances between different levels.In this review, the term PA was used to identify studies without distinguishing its different domains. Still, each of the four domains of PA is covered in the result: the occupational PA is reflected at the organisational level; the transportation PA is reflected at the environmental level; the domestic PA is reflected at the interpersonal level and the organisational level, respectively; and leisure-time PA crosses all barriers and facilitators. In fact, it was noted that although most of the included studies used the term "PA", the participant narratives focus on leisure-time PA in general. The included study also found that PA is frequently perceived as a form of leisure activity rather than any physical movement that can be accumulated across various activities . Young aSimilarities of barriers and facilitators to PA shared by young adult women or even further shared with middle to older women from previous research were frequently culturally and gender-based. Health, PA knowledge and skills, body image, multiple roles, social support, societal and cultural influences, and safety issues were some outstanding aspects. The differences in the prevalence between barriers and facilitators were not precisely divided by age but by the occurrence of life events and adaptation of social roles. One reason could be that only a few studies explicitly reported participants' ages, and only a few women emphasised age in narratives. Alternatively, women preferred to describe these factors with respect to their life stage or events but not with regard to their biological age. Young adult women between the ages of 18 and 40 typically experience four key life events and transitions: transition into higher education, transition to employment, transition to marriage and other committed relationships, and transition to motherhood (pregnancy/having a child). ChangesBeyond the differences between 18 to 40 years of women, the barriers and facilitators faced by young adult women differed from middle-aged and older women. One of the notable differences was the attitude toward health. Although women across ages generally reported health as the fundamental facilitator and motivation of PA participation, the perspective and priority on health seemed to differ. Previous studies found that health is the most often cited barrier and facilitator for PA by mid to old-age women . For midDifferent from older women, a considerable amount of young adult women stated that the body change goals such as weight control (mostly losing weight), getting in better shape, etc., at the intrapersonal level was the strongest motivation and facilitators for PA. This finding is consistent with mounting evidence that suggests that body dissatisfaction is normative and relatively stable across women’s lifespans , 97. TheResearch at the end of the last century suggested that one of the most challenging tasks for women was breaking gender stereotypes . HoweverYoung adult women’s barriers and facilitators to PA are complex and intertwined. Based on continuous education on personal behaviour change, what needs are progressive, large-scale, multilevel PA promotions in every dimension. Others and women must self-appreciate rather than exercise self-punitively to achieve an impossibly fashion-statement physique. Young adult women should first embrace PA, believing girls and women of all shapes and sizes deserve it  and thatThis review employed a widely applied framework, the SEM, to classify barriers and facilitators. Participants' narratives were then used to synthesise the interactions between various levels of outstanding barriers and facilitators. By doing so, this review highlighted barriers and facilitators of PA participation with contexts rather than only as isolated components. The synthesis shows that barriers and facilitators are complex and convertible rather than entirely distinct, revealing the complexity of real-life PA participation and people's attitude toward it. These findings can compensate for the gaps in quantitative research and reviews by providing in-context information. Generally, this review offers vital empirical and practical insights for research and PA interventions for young adult women.This review has several limitations. The participants' sociodemographic information  and PA level was extracted to be analysed during the data extraction process. Yet, the authors were unable to compare the participants' sociodemographics with their reported barriers and facilitators, such as urban and rural women, high-income and low-income women, etc., in a systematic way because only a small number of studies provided detailed and complete sociodemographics, many articles only provided partial or no such data. Moreover, reviewers could not distinguish precisely between the various PA levels and barriers and facilitators because so few publications described participants' daily PA levels. When applying PA strategies and interventions, the components are also crucial; in-depth research on these factors may be done in the future.This qualitative synthesis revealed in-depth information on barriers and facilitators influencing young adult women’s PA. It highlights that the challenges young adult women face are diverse at different levels yet holistic and intertwined. Future studies of young adult women's targeted PA promotion initiatives should consider the SEM model as a holistic framework. The design and evaluation of upcoming effective programs should also leverage this paradigm, and qualitative study should be taken into account. To improve young adult women’s PA, only targeting personal behaviour change is not enough; organisations, communities, and policymakers must take action to provide opportunities for women’s PA at a higher level and broader range.Additional file 1.Additional file 2.Additional file 3.


Fish are traded, caught, farmed, and killed in their trillions every year around the world, yet their welfare is often neglected and their capacity for feelings is regularly disregarded. We have searched the scientific literature to determine what is known about fish sentience and relate our findings to the many uses of fish around the globe.n = 216, 45.9% of total results), ‘anxiety’ , ‘fear’ , and ‘pain’ . Our findings highlight an abundance of evidence for fish sentience in the published scientific literature. We conclude that legislation governing the treatment of fish and attitudes towards their welfare require scrutiny so that their welfare can be safeguarded across the globe.Fish are traded, caught, farmed, and killed in their trillions every year around the world, yet their welfare is often neglected and their sentience regularly disregarded. In this review, we have sought to (1) catalogue the extent to which fish sentience has featured over the past 31 years in the scientific literature and (2) discuss the importance of fish sentience in relation to their commercial uses. We searched the journal database Science Direct using 42 keywords that describe traits or elements of sentience to find articles that were referring to or exploring fish sentience. Our review returned 470 results for fish sentience in 142 different species and subspecies of fish, and featured 19 different sentience keywords. The top four keywords were; ‘stress’  ( Fish are experimented upon, traded, caught, and farmed in numbers far outweighing any other vertebrate taxa . CurrentDanio rerio) used as models for various human diseases e.g., [Although most fish involved in the wildlife trade are destined for consumption , many are also caught, farmed, and traded as pets, an industry that has seen significant growth in recent years ,8. Figures e.g., ,10,11 foes e.g., , and in es e.g., . In addies e.g., ,15,16. Fes e.g., ,18. Seahes e.g., , with thes e.g., . Aquacules e.g., , and altes e.g., ,22.Despite their wide uses in the wildlife trade, legislation protecting fish has been described by some researchers as inadequate, including for experimentation, trade, and aquaculture ,24,25. NInadequate protection for fish applies to both welfare and conservation concerns, as fish and other less charismatic taxa, such as invertebrates and amphibians, have not always received the same level of attention from policy forums as other vertebrates have. For example, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) currently lists only 16 species of fish in Appendix I, despite 15,000 species being traded globally, around 20% of which are threatened with extinction ,36.In this review, we have sought to address these issues by examining the scientific literature to quantify the extent to which fish sentience has been recognised, utilised, or experimentally explored. For the purpose of this review, we define sentience as the capacity to have feelings, but have used a list of 42 different keywords to encompass all aspects of sentience. In this review, we have (1) catalogued the extent to which fish sentience featured over the past 31 years in the scientific journal database Science Direct, both in terms of sentience traits and the species involved, and (2) discussed the findings concerning the extensive involvement of fish in the various industries that impact them.We searched the scientific literature for evidence of sentience in fish. As the term sentience is complex, and the traits and characteristics of sentience may manifest themselves in different ways, we used a list of 42 keywords to define sentience We used the 42 keywords to search through the journal database Science Direct. We performed the searches using the search term ‘fish’, along with the Boolean operator ‘AND’, and then each of the keywords in turn. As some fish genera are not commonly referred to as fish and would therefore be unlikely to come up when searching for ‘fish’, we performed additional searches to ensure that we covered as many species of fish as possible. Therefore, we also searched for ‘seahorse’, ‘eel’, ‘shark’, and ‘ray’, along with each of the sentience keywords. We performed 210 searches in total.Each of the articles was reviewed against a set of criteria. Those that met all five of the criteria were included in the results as a returned article. The criteria were that the article (1) had to be published between 1990 and 2020, (2) be a research article, (3) utilise one or more species of fish in an experiment, (4) use the keyword regarding the fish species being studied in their experiment and not a previous study, and (5) use the keyword in relation to the fish’s subjective state. For example, the keyword ‘stress’ had to be used regarding the emotional or subjective experience of stress, and not oxidative or thermal stress. Some articles referred to more than one keyword or species, and we treated these as individual results, providing they met the criteria. We focused on the timeframe of 1990–2020 in order to cover a large selection of research within the time constraints that we had. The research was performed in 2021 to ensure that 2020 was a complete year.We reviewed all the results to establish how the keyword was used regarding the fish species. Each returned result was categorised as either ‘assume’ or ‘explore’, depending on whether the keyword was accepted or being experimentally explored. For example, a study that ‘assumed’ that parrotfish can experience pleasure would use the keyword in their experiment to test whether parrotfish found one thing more pleasurable than another, whereas a study that was ‘exploring’ whether fish can feel grief would test to see whether they showed behavioural and physiological signs of grief in an experimental paradigm. We recorded the ‘explore’ results as either positive, negative, or inconclusive, depending on the study’s authors’ reported outcome. If they found positive evidence of the keyword they were exploring, then we recorded it as a positive result. If they found evidence that the fish species did not have the characteristic or trait they were exploring, then we classed it as negative. We recorded ambiguous findings as inconclusive.We then recorded the article’s title, publication year, and journal name for each result, along with the scientific name and common name of each of the relevant species, and their taxonomic order(s). To maintain consistency, following the initial searches, one researcher reviewed all the returned articles against the criteria to determine which articles were to be included in the review.In addition to the five criteria mentioned earlier, some keywords were subject to additional criteria due to their use. The keywords ‘stress’, ‘distress’, and ‘suffer’ were commonly mentioned in relation to ethical procedures or regulations that the study had to adhere to. For these keywords, we only included the article if the keyword was used directly about the fish species being studied and not used only as a sweeping statement. For example, if the study stated that ‘care was taken to reduce distress in the zebrafish’, then it was included as it referred specifically to the fish species. However, if it stated that ‘care was taken to reduce distress in the animals used in the experiment’, this phrase was considered to be too general, as it did not refer specifically to the fish species used and, therefore, did not fit the criteria for inclusion.Science Direct caps the results it displays to a maximum of 6000. The keyword ‘stress’ was the only one to return over 6000 results . Therefore, we could only view the first 6000 of these results (organised by relevance).Two of the authors collected the data, and both had previously performed a similar systematic review using many of the same keywords . Both reWe performed descriptive analyses  on the returned results using Microsoft Excel Version 2110.In total, 470 results were returned across 349 articles. Some articles mentioned more than one keyword or utilised more than one species of fish, and we recorded those as individual results.n = 216, 45.9% of total results), ‘anxiety’ , ‘fear’ , and ‘pain’ .Of the 42 sentience keywords we searched for, 19 returned results see . The topn = 354) were returned using the search term ‘fish’ , 15.1% (n = 71) were returned using the search term ‘shark’, 1.7% (n = 8) were returned using the search term ‘seahorse’, and 0.6% (n = 3) were returned using the search term ‘eel’. The search term ‘ray’ did not return any appropriate results.Of the 470 results, 75.3% , Salmoniformes , and Perciformes . The top three species featured were zebrafish , rainbow trout , and Nile tilapia .In total, 142 different species and subspecies of fish were returned Leporinus macrocephalus). ‘Depression’ was explored three times, with two positive results, both involving zebrafish (Danio rerio), and one inconclusive result involving zebrafish. ‘Pain’ was explored six times with five positive results involving common carp (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (n = 2 Carassius auratus), and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), and one inconclusive result involving zebrafish. The remaining keywords were all assumed.Only the keywords ‘anxiety’, ‘depression’, and ‘pain’ were explored see . ‘AnxietAquaculture , Behavioural Brain Research , and Physiology and Behavior .The 349 returned articles were published in 64 different journals in the Science Direct database. The three journals featuring the most articles were 2 = 0.881) in the number of articles featuring fish and the sentience keywords being published each year.2 = 0.881) in the number of scientific studies that have assumed or explored fish sentience over the past three decades.Despite the common misconception that fish cannot feel pain or that their feelings do not matter, there is plenty of evidence demonstrating the importance of considering fish sentience e.g., ,42,43,44It is important to note that the majority of the results returned in our review were ‘assuming’ sentience traits in the fish species being studied. We do not feel that this is a concern in regards to evidence of fish sentience being unproven, as the same bias was found across other taxa, including mammals, in our previous review . FurtherMost of the results (75.4%) were returned when searching for ‘fish’, although some groups of fish were not featured in these searches; none of the results returned under the ‘eel’, ‘shark’, ‘seahorse’, or ‘ray’ searches were recorded in the generic ‘fish’ searches. The search term ‘ray’ returned no appropriate results, whereas ‘seahorse’ returned eight, ‘shark’ returned 71, and ‘eel’ returned three results, all of which were ‘assumed’. Overall, we found no evidence of an absence of sentience in fish. Instead, our findings highlight the capacity of fish to feel important subjective states, such as pain, depression, and anxiety, and positive evidence of the capacity of fish to experience these states. As research shows that fish are capable of a range of emotional states and feelings such as pain ,41,44, oThe sentience keywords ‘stress’, ‘anxiety’, ‘fear’, and ‘pain’ returned the most results, both when searching for ‘fish’ and overall see . This isPhoxinus phoxinus), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), seabream (Sparus aurata), zebrafish (Danio rerio), and convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). In one study, both ‘emotion’ and ‘sentience’ were assumed in rainbow trout and were used as the basis for designing welfare measures for aquaculture [Other keywords returned in our review included ‘affective state’, ‘emotion’, and ‘sentience’, all of which were assumed in European minnows , and all three results featured the European eel (Anguilla anguilla). One study concerned the welfare implications of live chilling and freezing of farmed eels, and tested the time it took eels to reach unconsciousness, based upon ECGs and their pain responses [‘Pain’ and ‘stress’ were the only keywords that returned results for eels, both of which were assumed in the two studies (pain: esponses . Eels aresponses . Little Hippocampus erectus) showed both behavioural and physiological stress and distress responses to chronic noise exposure, compared with when they were kept in a quiet tank [Our results show that seahorses are assumed to be capable of anxiety, distress, fear, and stress, which are all highly relevant emotional states in terms of their use in the pet trade, in scientific research, and as traditional medicine. The main two markets for seahorses are the trade of dried seahorses for traditional Asian medicine , which ciet tank . These fOur literature review was not intended to be exhaustive, but highlighted what scientists accept and are actively researching regarding fish sentience. Given the broad scope of the terms that we used  and the fact that we searched the full text of the articles, it is likely that we found the vast majority of relevant Science Direct articles, although we may still have missed some studies.The sentience keyword ‘stress’ returned over 90,000 research articles. Unfortunately, because Science Direct only allows one to access the first 6000 articles (organised by relevance), we could only review and include the relevant articles from the first 6000, rather than the full cohort of studies referring to stress. As a result, it is likely that the total number of returned articles and results for the keyword ‘stress’ are far higher than we have found.Given that there are around 32,000 extant species of fish , adoptinOur review primarily returned sentience keywords that are concerned with negative states and experiences such as pain, stress, and fear. Animal welfare science increasingly recognises the importance of positive states and experiences for captive animals . Our revDiscussions and research into fish welfare are still very much lacking, especially compared with other vertebrates ,37. EvenAnother important direction for future research should be on how to improve public attitudes to and perceptions about fish. Fish are commonly viewed merely as commodities and are typically described in terms of volume or weight, rather than the numbers of individual fish who are bred, caught, and killed ,24,27. PResearch on the impacts of trade on fish welfare is needed to make informed ethical judgements relating to policy decision-making . Based on our findings that highlight the complexity and diversity of fish sentience, we recommend that if fish continue to be bred, traded, and caught, then the legislation governing these practices should be evaluated, improved, and enforced, taking fish sentience into full account. Where certain practices are already prohibited, such as shark finning for certain species  and elecIndustries using fish, such as aquaculture, are growing exponentially , and somOur review has highlighted evidence of fish sentience in the scientific literature, but what does this mean in terms of the practices that impact the welfare of fish? According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), around a third of vertebrate species listed under the category ‘Use and Trade’ are fish , yet fisUnderstanding more about the sentience of fish and publicising the scientific knowledge of fish sentience are crucial in changing both the public’s and industry’s attitudes and ultimately behaviour towards these animals. It is clear from our review that fish are already widely accepted as being capable of a range of sentient traits, yet practice and legislation do not always properly reflect this . Targete