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The impact that environments have on human functioning for the development of capacities, the creation of resilience, and the prevention of psychological effects and biological diseases will depend on the exposure scenarios in which people live, as these can generate vulnerability or protection for health. Therefore, it is important to reflect on the need to guarantee housing, urban, psychosocial, and community conditions that promote physical well-being, spirituality, sports, sociability, and mental health in individuals. This is to foster the autonomous and free development of personality that improves interactions between empathetic, community-based beings. Understanding urban environments in human health opens up new interpretations of the role of space in social interactions and how we communicate in the physical and digital worlds.
National University of Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
Hernando Alonso Martín Forero
National University of Colombia, Bogotá D.C., Colombia
*Address all correspondence to: jcamilo.piedrahita@udea.edu.co
1. Introduction: Adolescence and development
Of the stages of neurodevelopment that are important for shaping personality and behavior throughout life, we must discuss adolescence. Adolescence is defined as a period of human development involving intense physical, psychological, and psychosocial changes during which children transition into adulthood; it begins with puberty and ends when bio-psychosocial development ceases. The World Health Organization (WHO) considers adolescence to be between the ages of 10 and 19, while youth is between the ages of 19 and 25. The American Academy of Adolescent Health and Medicine defines it as between the ages of 10 and 21, distinguishing three stages: early, middle, and late. It is useful to know these stages in order to differentiate between normal variations and abnormalities in physical and psychosocial development [1].
The most relevant physiological changes are the development of secondary sexual characteristics; the complete maturation of the gonads and adrenal glands; and the peak of bone, fat, and muscle mass. On the contrary, adolescents want to be independent while their self-perception changes; they build their self-esteem and struggle with the constant transformation of their desires, tastes, and life plans, achieving most of the psychosocial goals necessary to enter adulthood. Piaget noted that during this stage, individuals move from concrete to abstract thinking with a view to the future, which characterizes maturity. Cognitive development, with the ability to think abstractly, is achieved around age 12; moral development regarding right and wrong occurs between ages 15 and 16; and later, a life plan with realistic and practical vocational goals is established. It is worth highlighting the psychosocial goals that every adolescent should achieve (see Table 1) [1].
Goals
Early adolescence
Middle adolescence
Late adolescence
Independence
Less interest in parents.
Emotional void: behavior and mood are altered.
Lower academic performance.
Maximum conflicts with parents; more time with friends.
Struggle for independence.
Reacceptance of parental values and advice; a new relationship with parents.
Doubts about accepting responsibility.
Continued dependence on parents.
Body image
Concern about their bodies and changes: Am I normal?
Insecurity about appearance, comparing themselves to others.
Acceptance of your body.
Interest in making it more attractive.
Acceptance of changes.
The image is only a concern if there is an anomaly.
Friends
Interest in and friendships with friends of the same sex.
Feelings of tenderness lead to fears and homosexual relationships.
Can be positive: sports and music; negative: alcohol and drugs.
Maximum integration with friends and their values.
Maximum danger of risky behavior.
Less important friends and groups.
More time spent on intimate relationships (couples’ form).
Identity
Improved cognitive abilities (concrete thinking and the beginning of abstract thinking).
Self-interest, fantasies.
Unrealistic and idealistic vacation goals.
Greater need for privacy (diary).
Sexual feelings emerge.
Lack of impulse control, dangerous, risky behavior.
Increased intellectual capacity.
Broader range of feelings (values those of others).
Omnipotence.
Immortality leads to high-risk behavior.
Established abstract thinking.
Practical and realistic vocational goals.
Delimitations of religious, moral, and sexual values.
Ability to commit and set boundaries.
Table 1.
Physical, psychological, and social aspects of the stages of adolescence.
Source: Study by Hidalgo and González [1].
All human development goals are permeated by the use of the internet and the new communication needs that accompany us throughout our lives, creating new forms of interaction with the environment, communities, and people.
Today, social dynamics are largely driven by virtual interaction, thanks to advances in technology, the need for rapid communication, the SARS-CoV2 pandemic, distance learning, and the economy. These factors have led many teenagers to prefer interacting on social networks such as Instagram®, Twitter®, Tik Tok®, and Facebook® in search of acceptance in social groups [2]. However, this dynamic affects the level of attention needed and measures acceptance in likes, which translates into approval and acceptance of their own self-esteem for having more followers. Otherwise, anxiety disorders can be generated due to misinformation and the banality of the situation.
Early adolescence is especially vulnerable, as social media could normalize unhealthy behaviors related to body image, which refers to an individual’s opinions, feelings, and ideas about their appearance. This can create false expectations of thinness regarding body image and insecurities in women, as well as an obsession with bodybuilding in men, in addition to an increase in eating disorders, which are three times higher in women at the age of 15. The American Psychiatric Association states that the prevalence of eating disorders in adolescence and adulthood is 10%, manifested by anorexia nervosa in both stages and bulimia, which is more common in adolescence [3].
Cyberbullying is a form of deliberate and repeated aggression that occurs through digital technologies. It is a public health problem in this population, as victims feel anger, sadness, and shame [4]. This affects their psychological and social well-being, although research is controversial regarding the increased likelihood of suffering from anxiety and depression (due to multiple causes). However, researchers agree that high levels of intensity (frequency and time spent) can be linked to insomnia, daytime sleepiness, lack of concentration, social withdrawal, loneliness, cyberbullying, the onset of chronic diseases, and suicidal behavior, all of which are harmful to the health and protection of adolescents [5].
Depression and social media use have been the most studied disorders, and the duality of the results can be explained by two reasons: the displacement of physical activity, games, and time with family and friends; and social compensation, which refers to the fact that interaction with social media can be healing for adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems, as it allows them to connect with other people [5].
Active social media use refers to direct exchanges with others (posting statuses, commenting on posts, liking posts), while passive use involves consuming information without direct exchanges (viewing posts or scrolling). The latter is likely to have a greater negative effect on individuals who are sensitive to the behavior of others, possess high levels of personal insecurity, and have a constant need to boost their self-esteem. This is consistent with the hypothesis of individual susceptibility to the effects of social media use [5] (see Figure 1).
Figure 1.
Negative effects on adolescents’ mental health due to social media use. Source: Adapted from the study by Kelly Y. et [6].
The revolution in new information and communication technologies (ICT) over the last 20 years has transformed lifestyles and social reality [7]. Although there is a duality in the use of social media, it is important to understand that excessive or incorrect use can be a risk factor for adolescents’ mental health, mainly for depression, anxiety, internet or substance addiction, as well as eating disorders, obesity, cyberbullying, behavioral problems, low self-esteem, among others [5, 7]. However, it also increases opportunities to interact with people from all over the world, access social support, develop new skills, and help create one’s own identity. These spaces can be used to promote health and prevent disease [8], generating a positive impact, especially when considering the three issues that most influence adolescents: sexual health, body image, and addiction [7].
Understanding the characteristics of this stage of development, its needs, and interactions with social media can help health professionals, parents, and adolescents make better decisions for managing the risks that may arise from the inappropriate use of social media.
Environments play an important role in shaping human well-being, requiring interdisciplinary organization to articulate theories from psychology, psychiatry, neuroscience, and public health, as well as taking social determinants into account.
Mental health in the field of psychiatry has shifted from a focus on diagnosing pathologies to a more comprehensive perspective on the contextual factors that influence psychological suffering. According to Stainbrook [9], the ecology of mental illness shows that social conditions, poverty, structural violence, and isolation are risk factors for the emergence of disorders such as depression, anxiety, or psychosis. Social psychiatry broadens the biomedical view and highlights the role of adverse environments as structural determinants of emotional distress [9].
Similarly, Peen et al. [10] highlighted that there are multiple significant differences in the prevalence of mental disorders between rural and urban areas due to environmental factors such as overcrowding, noise, insecurity, and lack of green spaces. This underscores the need to incorporate environmental variables into mental health prevention and intervention strategies.
3.1 The blue zones
This concept refers to regions of the world where people live longer and healthier lives, thanks to the interaction between biological, psychosocial, environmental, and cultural factors. In his 2016 research, Buettner [11] identified that some areas, such as Okinawa (Japan), Sardinia (Italy), and Nicoya (Costa Rica), have high social cohesion, healthy diets, constant contact with nature, and a sense of purpose. These environmental and community conditions strengthen emotional resilience, which prevents cognitive decline, demonstrating that healthy environments promote longevity and emotional well-being in people living in areas with these characteristics [11].
Environmental stimuli directly affect the activation of brain structures involved in emotions. According to Agromartín [12], the physical and social environment can modify serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol levels, affecting mood, motivation, and stress response. Tala added that practicing positive emotions, such as gratitude, has neuroprotective effects, strengthening the immune system and improving brain function [13].
Bronfenbrenner [14] proposed that human development occurs in interconnected ecological systems: microsystem (family, school), mesosystem (interaction between microsystems), exosystem (social institutions), macrosystem (cultural values), and chronosystem (temporal dimension). Each of these levels directly influences the psychological well-being of the individual. A healthy environment involves simultaneous intervention at all levels of the human ecosystem, including actions between families, communities, institutions, and policies that help to guarantee dignified and safe conditions. This includes the spaces that everyone shares, such as the home, school, work, parks, among others [14].
Every day, new research is added that demonstrates the influence of the environment on human psychology and the well-being of societies, based on the quality and peace offered by their spaces in relation to cognitive and attention processes. This makes sense if we analyze societies in terms of time and the changes that occur due to the needs brought about by wars, violence, natural disasters, pandemics, and all the social conflicts that force structural changes.
3.2 Psychological restoration
Some authors, such as Berman [15], compare the effects of natural environments on cognitive functioning, especially in the restoration of directed attention, demonstrating that nature presents intriguing stimuli that capture attention in a modest and ascending manner, allowing directed attention capacities to recover, unlike urban environments, where attention is dramatic and requires being directed to avoid accidents, making them less restorative.
Hartig et al. [16] investigated psychophysiological stress recovery and targeted attention restoration in natural versus urban environments, demonstrating that natural environments more rapidly decrease diastolic blood pressure when sitting after a stressful task in a room with a view of trees compared to a room without a view. They also reported changes in blood pressure after walking in a nature reserve, which indicated greater stress reduction compared to the urban environment. Attention tests improved slightly after a walk in a nature reserve, while they decreased in the urban environment [16].
Ulrich [17] demonstrated that exposure to green spaces significantly reduces stress, improves sustained attention, and promotes positive emotional states. Other researchers who support this premise include Kjellgren and Buhrkall [18], who, in 2010, compared real natural environments with simulated artificial environments and concluded that direct experience with nature produces greater restorative benefits.
Environmental stimuli affect the activation of brain structures involved in emotions; the physical and social environment can modify circulating levels of serotonin, dopamine, and cortisol, which alter mood, motivation, and response to stress [12]. From a neurobiological perspective, contact with natural environments activates areas of the brain linked to emotional regulation and the perception of well-being, especially the practice of positive emotions such as gratitude, which has a protective effect by improving brain function and strengthening the immune system [13]. The convergence between physiological and psychological approaches reinforces the hypothesis that environmental infrastructure has a direct impact on the mental health of inhabitants and on the social, political, and economic development of communities.
It is important to create spaces for dialog, discussion, and constant reflection on the adaptations and transformations of spaces because they are part of the history and future of the communities.
3.3 Social conditions and well-being
Some social determinants can act as opportunities or barriers to well-being; the unequal distribution of services, public spaces, decent employment, and education directly influences the mental health of populations, especially in neglected or ignored peripheral urban or rural contexts [19]. Since 1986, the WHO has stated that environments must offer participatory, dignified, and sustainable conditions to generate processes that promote comprehensive human development [20]. By 2004, the WHO proposed that environments should be understood as a system of political, social, and institutional relationships that can be intervened in to prevent psychosocial effects in communities [21].
Work is a fundamental environment for occupational and organizational well-being, where most people spend a large part of their lives. Authors such as Royero [22] and Peralta et al. [23] have documented high levels of emotional exhaustion, overload, and chronic stress among workers in the health and education sectors in their research, which coincides with the absence of adequate physical spaces, fair workloads, and empathetic leadership — all of which are considered favorable structural conditions.
Collective actions in vulnerable territories with community participation can lead to improvements in mental health. Machado et al. [24] demonstrated that community ownership of the environment reinforces active citizen participation and the promotion of healthy environments on an ongoing basis, especially when there are structural limitations on the part of state institutions, as it increases the sense of belonging, social cohesion, and collective self-efficacy — factors known to be associated with higher levels of subjective well-being and emotional resilience [25].
Analyzing the processes of personality development, social media use, and interaction with physical environments in terms of mental and physiological health is vitally important for understanding the power of physical and digital spaces in human psychology today. This knowledge will enable people to make better decisions about interacting with environments that improve their cognitive processes and well-being, based on available scientific evidence.
Contact with natural environments has been shown to yield better results in various studies on attention, positive emotional states, stress reduction, and blood pressure. These aspects contribute to well-being and more stable mental health.
To Aleida Esperanza Mejía Corpus and Dumar Alberto Piedrahita Piedrahita, for encouraging reflection and respect for every space we inhabit. And to Elvia María González, Doctor of Education, for training with love and innovation the new doctors who will transform national education. To the University of Antioquia, for creating diverse spaces for the professional, cultural, and personal growth of all its students, especially the Medicine program and the Doctorate in Higher Education.
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Written By
Joan Camilo Piedrahita Mejía, Sebastián Gaviria Londoño,
Adriana Arango Castiblanco and Hernando Alonso Martín Forero
Submitted: 16 September 2025Reviewed: 23 September 2025Published: 04 March 2026
Open access peer-reviewed chapter - ONLINE FIRST
