Sub-Project 1: An observational study on environments, activities and stress in daily life using map-based questionnaires & a mobile survey
The observational study aims to survey 2000 adults, age 18-65 years old, residing in Luxembourg.
The survey design first includes an online part that combine traditional questionnaires and a map-based component, in order to measure - and analyze - participants’ regular activity patterns, regular exposure to geographic environments, and chronic stress. Second, the survey includes a mobile component involving a 15-day follow-up using an app that integrates ecological momentary assessment (EMA), GPS tracking, and voice samples. The analyses will examine the relationships between momentary and daily exposures to geographic environments and stress levels, assessed both psychologically and physiologically through vocal biomarkers of stress. The data collection was launched on October 2024.
Sub-Project 2: An experimental study using virtual reality (VR) to examine the effects of the urban environment and exposure fragmentation on stress
The series of VR lab-based experiments aim at first testing and validating the experimental setting and measures, and second, testing systematically the effect of numerous environmental characteristics on psychological and physiological stress, while keeping a high level of realism. The experimental setting includes a virtual reality headset, a 360° walking simulator, and wristband to measure stress bio-signals.
The first pilot tested for the comparability between stress responses to environmental stressors in virtual reality and in real life environment. This pilot includes 50 participants, who walked in a pedestrian and a car-friendly streets, both real environment and in a virtual copy of the streets, in a random order.
The second pilot tested for the ability to measure average stress and peaks of stress induced by daily life environmental factors, in virtual reality, while walking. This second pilot includes 50 participants, who were exposed to a relaxing park and a stressful street, in a random order.
Focus groups performed on 32 participants investigated i) the stressful environmental characteristics in Luxembourg, ii) the influence of situational factors (what activity, where, when, with whom), and iii) the vulnerabilities across social groups.
