Sense of Place and Emotional Healing: Exploring Students’ Perceptions of Spaces for Emotional Recovery at Silpakorn University

Abstract

Background and Objectives: When individuals experience emotional distress arising from their daily lives or surrounding environment, they often seek places that provide comfort and emotional relief. Similarly, university students may encounter feelings of anxiety, stress, or distress, particularly those associated with adolescent romantic relationships. When these feelings occur, students need a place that helps them feel better and recover from such distress. This research aimed to study the characteristics of the places that university students use as places to manage heartbreak through the concept of Sense of Place and Environmental Psychology theory, and to analyze the factors that affect the formation of mental attachment and the meaning of those places related to memories and psychological healing processes.

Methods: The research used quantitative research methodology by collecting data from questionnaires with 1,200 students from Silpakorn University, Sanam Chandra Palace Campus. Stratified random sampling was used. The questionnaire was designed based on the concepts of Sense of Place and Environmental Psychology with an appropriate reliability value (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.80). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and interpretations based on the four conceptual frameworks of Sense of Place and Environmental Psychology. 

Results: The results of the study found that the primary places that students selected for emotional recovery were the sea/river (33.17 percent), followed by their homes/dormitories (21.33 percent), and parks/fitness centers (12.08 percent), respectively. The main reasons students chose the places were the tranquility, relaxing atmosphere, and nature, which helped calm their minds. When considering the important factors of Sense of Place, which had the most impact on the choice of places, it was the environment, especially the atmosphere that helped them feel relaxed (𝑥̄ = 4.68). The least important factors were participation in activities in that place and historical or cultural values. The overall research results found that places can significantly promote the emotional recovery process, especially when the place creates a sense of peace and relaxation.

Application of this study: The results of this research can be used to design spaces within the university to respond to the emotional and mental health needs of students. It can be used as a guideline for developing public spaces or green spaces in the university to promote the mental health of youths and encourage university administrators or educational policy makers to be aware of the role of places in the process of mental healing and to integrate this knowledge into planning services or activities to sustainably develop the mental health of students.

Conclusions: This study reflects that a place plays an important role in the process of healing and restoring the emotional state of the students who experience romantic disappointment. The students tend to choose peaceful, relaxing, and nature-oriented spaces as places for emotional refuge, as these environments help reduce stress and promote psychological balance. The findings confirm that environmental elements, particularly an atmosphere that creates a sense of calm, are the most important factors in fostering place attachment and supporting emotional restoration. These findings indicate that physical spaces are not merely the backdrop of life experiences, but also important resources that influence psychological well-being. Therefore, the design and development of university spaces should take emotional dimensions and environmental psychology into consideration in order to create the environments that sustainably support students’ well-being and quality of life.