The ambiguity of biophilia: it promotes personal authenticity but enhances distress / La ambigüedad de la biofilia: fomenta la autenticidad personal, pero incrementa el distrés

The role of biophilic attitudes in maintaining psychological well-being (contributing to personal authenticity and preventing distress) was investigated. Environmental identity served as a moderator of the connections. In total, 383 Russian-speaking respondents (77.3% female) aged 18 to 55 participated in the study. A new modification of the Biophilic Attitudes Inventory — Russia was developed, including 20 statements and five subscales: Naturalism , Dominionism , Ecologism , Curiosity and Security . Contrary to expectations, it was found that biophilia is not a universal factor of psychological well-being: whereas it contributed positively to personal authenticity, it also contributed positively to distress. Environmental identity did not moderate these connections. The results are interpreted based on the specifics of the sample (urban residents with limited experience of the interaction with nature). The limitations of the research, the prospects of its further development and practical applications are presented.