Citation

Evans GW, Lercher P, Kofler WW. J. Environ. Psychol. 2002; 22(3): 221-231.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, Academic Press)

DOI

10.1006/jevp.2002.0256

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

An important and largely unstudied aspect of the apparent relation between residential crowding and mental health is the potential role of environmental design to moderate this relation. An epidemiological investigation reveals that the type of housing children inhabit alters mental health correlates of residential crowding. Third and fourth grade Austrian children (n=1,236) from small towns and agricultural areas who reside in multiple family dwellings manifest significantly stronger associations between residential density and a standardized self-report index of psychological health (KINDL) as well as teacher ratings of behavioral conduct in the classroom (Needleman) in comparison to their counterparts residing either in single family detached homes or in row houses. These findings occur independently of mother's educational level among children residing in relatively low-density housing.