International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Article How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand Evi Petersen 1, * , Annette Bischoff 1 , Gunnar Liedtke 2 and Andrew J. Martin 3   Citation: Petersen, E.; Bischoff, A.; Liedtke, G.; Martin, A.J. How Does Being Solo in Nature Affect Well-Being? Evidence from Norway, Germany and New Zealand. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ ijerph18157897 Academic Editors: Giovanna Calogiuri, Jo Barton, Børge Baklien, Christopher J. Gidlow, Tadhg Macintyre and Paul B. Tchounwou Received: 30 May 2021 Accepted: 19 July 2021 Published: 26 July 2021 Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affil- iations. Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). 1 Institute of Sports, Physical Education and Outdoor Life, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway; annette.bischoff@usn.no 2 Department of Human Movement Science, University of Hamburg, 20148 Hamburg, Germany; gunnar.liedtke@uni-hamburg.de 3 School of Sport, Exercise and Nutrition, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand; a.j.martin@massey.ac.nz * Correspondence: evi.petersen@usn.no Abstract: Background: Solo—being intentionally solitary in nature—is receiving growing attention as a valuable outdoor education program component. Its practice and history have been researched in the context of experiential learning, but few studies have explicitly examined how solo experiences can affect dimensions of well-being. This study investigated a broad range of well-being pathways provided by being solo, based on data from Norway, Germany, and New Zealand. Methods: Using qualitative content analysis (QCA), the solo debrief responses of 40 participants (26 females, age: 19–64 years) were analysed, applying the PERMA-V framework (emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, achievement, and vitality). Variations in the reports were explored as a function of the national sample, gender, age, prior solo experiences and expectations. Results: The study suggests that hedonic and eudemonic well-being pathways, represented by the six PERMA-V pillars, interrelate strongly. The experience of a range of positive emotions and connecting process during solo highlights two of the most frequent findings related to well-being pathways. The secondary findings suggest minor variations in the well-being pathways for the different national samples, gender and age. Expectations and prior experiences with solo were identified as context factors with minor impact. Further, the data-driven analysis identified specific physical activities, landscape features, sense-activation, perception of time and ‘good’ weather as relevant to the specific experience. Conclusions: Solo experiences provide for well-being-related pathways in a multitude of ways, which highlights the well-being potential of solo implementation across practical fields beyond outdoor education, such as wilderness therapy, and environmental and planetary health initiatives. Future studies should continue to explore solo’s well-being potential in different settings, especially in the context of non-Western samples. Keywords: wilderness solo; being in nature; solitude; emotions; well-being; culture; green exercise; nature connectedness; flourishing; PERMA-V 1. Introduction “To spend a lengthy period alone in the forests or mountains, a period of coming to terms with the solitude and non-humanity of nature is to discover who, or what, one really is–a discovery hardly possible while the community is telling you what you are, or ought to be.” (Alan Watts) Most people living in contemporary Western societies have probably never experienced total social isolation for more than a day. Even in times of a global pandemic, many stay connected and receive social input through various digital channels. Taking into account that solitary confinement is considered one of the harshest punishments, one may wonder why an individual would intentionally choose to spend time in isolation. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 7897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18157897 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph