Predictors of residential environment stress during social distancing in the pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus

Abstract

Abstract The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) coronavirus pandemic and social distancing caused impacts on people’s health, among them, environmental stress – a set of objective and subjective reactions that occur when people face negative environmental influences. The objective was to investigate variables associated with residential environment stress during the pandemic in Brazil. An online survey was carried out with 2000 Brazilians with a mean age of 38.7 years (SD = 14.55), 76.80% of whom were women. The results showed that 81.90% (f = 1,639) of the sample had some level of environmental stress, predicted by geographic region (Brazil’s northern and northeastern regions), lower income, lower residential quality scores, and absence of a restorative environment. It is then concluded the identification of some negative and positive environmental factors associated with environmental stress, which may assist in the implementation of policies for coping with 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and promoting mental health in the pandemic context.

Keywords

• Environmental psychology
• Mental health
• Psychological stress
• Public health
• Social isolation