Disconnecting to recover: how digital detox tourism shapes attention restoration and psychological well-being through perceived environmental restorativeness and mindfulness

Vollständiger Abstract

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Digital detox tourism has become increasingly popular, yet empirical research on its restorative mechanisms remains limited. Drawing on attention restoration theory and the mindfulness–well-being framework, this study used a two-group quasi-experiment combined with a three-wave longitudinal and dose–response design ( N = 500). Propensity score weighting was applied to a composite path analysis to adjust for baseline differences arising from self-selection. The study examined how digital detox tourism affects attention restoration and subjective well-being through perceived environmental restorativeness and state mindfulness. Latent variable structural equation modeling showed that detox exposure significantly increased perceived restorativeness, which in turn enhanced subjective attention, life satisfaction, and positive affect through mindfulness; all three serial mediation paths were confirmed by bootstrapping, and the association between disconnection intensity and restorative appraisal held across the sample while it did not hold within the detox condition alone. The study further revealed a mechanistic asymmetry between cognitive and affective well-being, in that life satisfaction was driven both by the direct effect of restorativeness and by its indirect effect through mindfulness, whereas positive affect depended almost entirely on mindfulness. This study carries attention restoration theory into a setting of dual digital–physical disconnection and offers a refined test of the “mainly through mindfulness” proposition within the bounds of a single intervention context.