تحقيقات جغرافيايی (Sep 2019)
Correlation of Housing Quality Indices and Perceived Stress in Isfahan Metropolis’ Families
Abstract
Aims & Backgrounds: Based on WHO research, a long range of mental disorders in developing countries and developed countries are related to economic status of a country. Stress is one of the most important mental disorders. The issue, which has been ignored so far, is the impact of the built environment on mental health indices. The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between housing quality indices and citizenschr('39') mental health in a case study of MoftAbad and Mardavij neighborhoods of Isfahan city. Methodology: The current research is descriptive-analytical and carried out in two district of Isfahan city in 2018. For studying qualitative indices of housing, 8 indices in the internal dimension and 12 others in the external dimension of housing were selected for this study. The dependent variable of the research is perceived stress. To measure stress, the standard perceived stress scale of Cohen et al. (1983) was used which has 14 questions and data were analyzed using Pearson test and also regression analysis. Findings: It was found that the quality of the internal environment in the neighborhoods of MoftAbad and Mardavij, with the intensity of -0.671 and -0.656 respectively, has a significant relationship with perceived stress and the quality of the external environment in relation with perceived stress in MoftAbad and Mardavij neighborhoods is -0.665 and -0.675 respectively. The results of regression analysis showed generally that variables such as interior design and architecture, indoor green space, received natural light, building quality, diversity of green spaces, inappropriate use of color in space, pavement flooring, and the possibility of pedestrianism, the quality of public spaces, environmental cleanliness and environmental security have the most impact on the stress level of urban residents. Conclusion: The quality of house in urban areas can reduce or increase the perceived stress as people live most of their time in houses.
