Cross-cultural differences in tolerance for crowding: fact or fiction?

Racial/Ethnic Differences in Non-Discretionary Risk Factors for COVID-19 Among Patients in an Early COVID-19 Hotspot

BACKGROUND

Baseline disparities in non-discretionary risk factors, i.e., those not readily altered, like family size and work environment, appear to underlie the disproportionate COVID-19 infection rates seen among Hispanic persons and, at surge onsets, Black persons. No study has systematically compared such risk factors by race/ethnicity among infected individuals.

METHODS

Using a cross-sectional survey, we compared household, job, and socioeconomic characteristics among 260 Hispanic, non-Hispanic Black, and non-Hispanic White adults with confirmed or probable COVID-19 in New York from March to May 2020. We used logistic regression to identify independent relationships.

RESULTS

In bivariate analysis, we found significant differences by race/ethnicity in the following: (1) rates of household crowding (p < 0.001), which were highest for Hispanic patients (45.1%) and lowest for White patients (0.9%); (2) rates of non-healthcare frontline work (p < 0.001), which were highest for Hispanic patients (71.0% of those employed) and lowest for White patients (31.4%); (3) rates of working close to people (p < 0.001), which were highest for Black patients (69.4%) and lowest for Hispanic patients (32.3%); and (4) rates of frontline healthcare work (p = 0.004), which were higher for Black (44.9%) and White (44.3%) patients than Hispanic patients (19.4%). Adjusting for covariates eliminated most differences but not that for household crowding.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-discretionary COVID-19 risk factors among patients in the initial surge differed substantially by race/ethnicity. Socioeconomic factors explained most differences, but household crowding was independently associated with Hispanic ethnicity. Our findings highlight the ongoing need for universal safeguards for US frontline workers, including mandated paid sick leave and expanded affordable housing options.

Social determinants of mental health: the roles of traumatic events, financial strain, housing instability, food insecurity, and commute time

OBJECTIVE

To identify social determinants of mental health embedded within college students' living and learning conditions.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants included 215 mostly undergraduate (95%) business students at a diverse, urban west coast public university (48% women; mean age 24).

METHODS

Participants completed an online self-report survey measuring affective state, global mental health, anxious and depressive symptoms, as well as social determinants of mental health. Data were analyzed using multiple regression controlling for self-esteem, gender, and race/ethnicity.

RESULTS

Results suggest that higher family income is positively related to mental health, whereas more adverse events (e.g., assault, robbery, serious illness or injury), food insecurity, and commute time are negatively related to mental health. Moderation results indicate a moderate buffering effect of belonging on global mental health among students who experience zero adverse events.

CONCLUSIONS

Social determinants can shed light on student's precarious living and learning conditions and resultant effects on students' mental health.

COVID-19 mitigation behaviors among English-Speaking Hmong Americans

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 mitigation strategies such as masking, social distancing, avoiding group gatherings, and vaccination uptake are crucial interventions to preventing the spread of COVID-19. At present, COVID-19 data are aggregated and fail to identify subgroup variation in Asian American communities such as Hmong Americans. To understand the acceptance, adoption, and adherence to COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, an investigation of Hmong Americans' contextual and personal characteristics was conducted.

METHODS

This study aims to describe COVID-19 mitigation behaviors among Hmong Americans and the contextual and personal characteristics that influence these behaviors. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from April 8 till June 1, 2021, with Hmong Americans aged 18 and over. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the overall characteristics and COVID-19 related behaviors of Hmong Americans. Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Test were computed to describe COVID-19 mitigation behaviors by gender and generational status (a marker of acculturation).

RESULTS

The sample included 507 participants who completed the survey. A majority of the Hmong American participants in our study reported masking (449/505, 88.9%), social distancing (270/496, 55.3%), avoiding group gatherings (345/505, 68.3%), avoiding public spaces (366/506, 72.3%), and obtaining the COVID-19 vaccination (350/506, 69.2%) to stay safe from COVID-19. Women were more likely to socially distance (P = .005), and avoid family (P = .005), and social gatherings (P = .009) compared to men. Social influence patterns related to mitigation behaviors varied by sex. Men were more likely compared to women to be influenced by Hmong community leaders to participate in family and group gatherings (P = .026), masking (P = .029), social distancing (P = .022), and vaccination uptake (P = .037), whereas healthcare providers and government officials were social influencers for social distancing and masking for women. Patterns of social distancing and group gatherings were also influenced by generational status.

CONCLUSION

Contextual and personal characteristics influence COVID-19 mitigation behaviors among English speaking Hmong Americans. These findings have implications for identifying and implementing culturally appropriate health messages, future public health interventions, policy development, and ongoing research with this population.

Impact of perceptions and attitudes on air travel choices in the post-COVID-19 era: A cross-national analysis of stated preference data

The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent travel restrictions have had an unprecedented impact on the air travel market. However, a rigorous analysis of the potential role of safety perceptions and attitudes towards COVID-19 interventions on future air passenger choices has been lacking to date. To investigate this matter, 1469 individuals were interviewed between April and September 2020 in four multi-airport cities (London, New York City, Sao Paulo, Shanghai). The core analysis draws upon data from a set of stated preference (SP) experiments in which respondents were asked to reflect on a hypothetical air travel journey taking place when travel restrictions are lifted but there is still a risk of infection. The hybrid choice model results show that alongside traditional attributes, such as fare, duration and transfer, attitudinal and safety perception factors matter to air passengers when making future air travel choices. The cross-national analysis points towards differences in responses across the cities to stem from culturally-driven attitudes towards interpersonal distance and personal space. We also report the willingness to pay for travel attributes under the expected future conditions and discuss post-pandemic implications for the air travel sector, including video-conferencing as a substitute for air travel.

Affective experience in a virtual crowd regulates perceived travel time

Time sometimes feels like it is flying by or slowing down. Previous research indicates objective number of items, subjective affect, and heart rate all can influence the experience of time. While these factors are usually tested in isolation with simple stimuli in the laboratory, here we examined them together in the ecological context of a virtual subway ride. We hypothesized that subjective affective experience associated with objective crowding lengthens subjective trip duration. Participants (N = 41) experienced short (1-2 min) immersive virtual reality subway trips with different levels of public crowding. Consistent with the immersive nature of decreased interpersonal virtual space, increased crowding decreased pleasantness and increased the unpleasantness of a trip. Virtual crowding also lengthened perceived trip duration. The presence of one additional person per square meter of the train significantly increased perceived travel time by an average of 1.8 s. Degree of pleasant relative to unpleasant affect mediated why crowded trips felt longer. Independently of crowding and affect, heart rate changes were related to experienced trip time. These results demonstrate socioemotional regulation of the experience of time and that effects of social crowding on perception and affect can be reliably created during a solitary virtual experience. This study demonstrates a novel use of Virtual Reality technology for testing psychological theories in ecologically valid and highly controlled settings.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10055-022-00713-8.

Household crowding during the COVID-19 lockdown fosters anti-democracy even after 17 months: A 5-wave latent growth curve study

In an earlier cross-sectional study, Roccato et al. (2021) showed that household crowding during the COVID-19 lockdown was positively related to support for anti-democratic political systems. However, little is known about the persistence of these effect over time. In this study, we examined its duration in a longitudinal study structured in five waves, the first in May-June 2019 (before the COVID-19 outbreak, N = 1504) and the others during the pandemic, in April 2020 (during the lockdown, N = 1199), October 2020 (N = 1156), April 2021 (N = 1148), and October 2021 (N = 1151). The increase in support for anti-democratic systems associated with household overcrowding in the initial phase of the lockdown (Wave 2) did not change over the subsequent 17 months. Moreover, the effect was stronger among those who had high (compared with low) trust in democratic political institutions before the pandemic. Strengths, limitations, and potential developments of the study are discussed.

Privacy and housing: research perspectives based on a systematic literature review

Grounded in psychological and social constructs, the need for privacy is reflected in human socio-spatial behaviour and in our own home. To discuss housing privacy, this article presents a systematic literature review (SLR) that identified theoretical and methodological aspects relevant to the topic. The research was based on consolidated protocols to identify, select and evaluate articles published between 2000 and 2021 in three databases (Web of Science, Google Scholar and Scielo), with 71 eligible articles identified for synthesis. The results showed a concentration of studies in the American, European and Islamic context, and the increase in this production since 2018. This was guided by the inadequacy of architectural and urban planning projects, by new forms of social interaction and, recently, by the COVID-19 pandemic. From a theoretical point of view, the SLR demonstrated the importance of investigating privacy in housing from a comprehensive perspective, observing its different dimensions (physical, social and psychological) and characterizing the issues involved and the context under analysis. Methodologically, the main instruments identified were: (i) to behavioural analysis, questionnaires, interviews and observations; (ii) to built environment evaluation, in addition to the previous ones, space syntax analysis, architectural design and photographs analysis; (iii) for the general characterization of users, the data collection regarding the socio-demographic and cultural context and the meanings attributed to spatial organizations; (iv) to characterize the participants of the investigations, the analysis of personality traits, the ways to personalize the space, user satisfaction/preferences and the influence of social interactions on these perceptions.

Space at home and psychological distress during the Covid-19 lockdown in Italy

Prolonged periods of restrictions on people's freedom of movement during the first massive wave of the COVID-19 pandemic meant that most people engaged in all their daily activities at home. This suggested the need for the spatial features of the home and its occupants' perception of them to be investigated in terms of people's wellbeing. The present study was conducted on a large sample (N = 1354) drawn from different Italian regions. It examined the relationship between the "objective" and "subjective" dimensions of the home, measured in terms of objective home crowding and satisfaction with the space at home, in relation to perceived stress and the perceived risk of COVID-19 infection during the lockdown. The results showed that perceived stress is influenced by objective home crowding through the mediation of satisfaction with the space at home. These associations were more pronounced in younger generations. The negative association between satisfaction with the space at home and perceived stress was higher, the lower the perceived COVID-19 risk.

Household crowding can have political effects: An empirical study on support for anti-democratic political systems during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy

We analysed some political consequences of household crowding during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown across a wide quota sample of the Italian adult population, stratified as concerns gender, age, level of education, geographical area of residence, and size of area of residence, interviewed before (May-June 2019) and during (April 2020) the lockdown (N = 1,047, 51.2% women, M _age = 50.44, SD = 14.36). Path analysis showed that household crowding during the lockdown was positively associated with support for anti-democratic political systems, through the partial mediation of the perceived relative impact of COVID-19 on one's family and of expectations of future lifestyle restrictions due to the pandemic. These associations did not depend on participants' pre-pandemic socio-economic status and predisposition to strong political leaders. Strengths, limitations, and possible developments of the study are discussed.

An Approach of Social Navigation Based on Proxemics for Crowded Environments of Humans and Robots

Nowadays, mobile robots are playing an important role in different areas of science, industry, academia and even in everyday life. In this sense, their abilities and behaviours become increasingly complex. In particular, in indoor environments, such as hospitals, schools, banks and museums, where the robot coincides with people and other robots, its movement and navigation must be programmed and adapted to robot–robot and human–robot interactions. However, existing approaches are focused either on multi-robot navigation (robot–robot interaction) or social navigation with human presence (human–robot interaction), neglecting the integration of both approaches. Proxemic interaction is recently being used in this domain of research, to improve Human–Robot Interaction (HRI). In this context, we propose an autonomous navigation approach for mobile robots in indoor environments, based on the principles of proxemic theory, integrated with classical navigation algorithms, such as ORCA, Social Momentum, and A*. With this novel approach, the mobile robot adapts its behaviour, by analysing the proximity of people to each other, with respect to it, and with respect to other robots to decide and plan its respective navigation, while showing acceptable social behaviours in presence of humans. We describe our proposed approach and show how proxemics and the classical navigation algorithms are combined to provide an effective navigation, while respecting social human distances. To show the suitability of our approach, we simulate several situations of coexistence of robots and humans, demonstrating an effective social navigation.

Household overcrowding and psychological distress among Nunavik Inuit adolescents: a longitudinal study

About half of Nunavik Inuit live in overcrowded households compared to very few Canadians from the general population. Living in overcrowded households is associated with greater risks of suffering from mental health problems for Canadian adolescents. The present work aims at studying prospectively the hypothesised relationship between household overcrowding at childhood and psychological distress during adolescence among Nunavik Inuit, as well as the hypothesised relationship between these phenomena when they are both measure at adolescence. Recruited as part of the Nunavik Child Development Study, 220 participants were met at 11 years old in average and then when they were 18 years old in average. Household overcrowding was assessed using the people per room ratio. Psychological distress symptoms were operationalised at adolescence using depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts. The results did not show that childhood household crowding had a long-term effect on psychological distress. An absence of moderation by sex of the association was also found in the present study. Despite those results, household crowding could be a risk factor only when in interaction with other elements related with poverty or housing or could be experienced as a difficulty for adolescents on other aspects than depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts.

Immigrants and Housing Markets in Mid-Size Metropolitan Areas

The recent trend of immigrants arriving in mid-size metropolitan areas has received growing attention in the literature. This study examines the success of immigrants in the housing markets of a sample of 60 metropolitan areas using Census microdata in both 2000 and 2005. The results suggest that immigrants are less successful in achieving homeownership and more likely to live in overcrowded conditions than native-born whites of non-Hispanic origin. The immigrant effect on homeownership differs by geography and by immigrant group. Finally, we find evidence that immigrant networks increase the likelihood of becoming a homeowner.

Exploring Touch in Physical Education Practicum in a Touchy Latin Culture

The decrease in touch has been explored in recent literature in relation to child protection discourses and no touch policies and it has been suggested that Physical Education (PE) has been weakened by the lack of touch. Significantly, the issue of touch has remained largely unexplored in Latin societies, which are characterised by an amplified tactile approach to people and comparatively little personal space. This paper examines how a group of pre-service PE teachers in Spain responded to, acted and negotiated touch with primary school students. It draws on data generated from body journals and the concepts of risk society, surveillance and moral panic. The findings indicate that touching school students is still common practice in Spain and was considered something positive. The influence of other individuals and certain spaces was also noted by participants, who felt more surveilled and distressed on particular occasions and some of them strategically introduced touch with students in a progressive manner. The results of the study invite us to reflect on the possibility of doing more harm than good by presenting topics about touch to pre-service teachers and how pre-service teacher educators may need to provide PE students with proper resources and understandings to successfully negotiate touch with school students.

Increasing Rate of Psychological Distress in Urban Households: How Does Income Matter?

Numerous studies suggest 'social gradient' in health, but it is less clear whether every step up the socio-economic ladder improves health by the same degree. Based on 4326 households, the present study examines the relationship between household income and psychological distress while identifying specific risk factor in different income groups. Overall, 26.5% of sampled households were reported for being distressed. Work pressure (OR 2.0, p < 0.01) and reducing time for family/friends (OR 1.79, p < 0.01) in high-income group; overcrowding (OR 3.1, p < 0.001), lacking drinking water (OR 2.27, p < 0.001) and indoor noise pollution (OR 1.76, p < 0.001) in low income group and overcrowding (OR 3.1, p < 0.001), lacking affordable health care (OR 2.58, p < 0.001), and indoor noise pollution (OR 1.6, p < 0.001) in medium income group were significant predictors of psychological distress. People in lower income group are at greater risk of becoming distressed, but the higher income is not always the guarantor of psychological well-being.

Spatial Variability of Geriatric Depression Risk in a High-Density City: A Data-Driven Socio-Environmental Vulnerability Mapping Approach

Previous studies found a relationship between geriatric depression and social deprivation. However, most studies did not include environmental factors in the statistical models, introducing a bias to estimate geriatric depression risk because the urban environment was found to have significant associations with mental health. We developed a cross-sectional study with a binomial logistic regression to examine the geriatric depression risk of a high-density city based on five social vulnerability factors and four environmental measures. We constructed a socio-environmental vulnerability index by including the significant variables to map the geriatric depression risk in Hong Kong, a high-density city characterized by compact urban environment and high-rise buildings. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) of the variables were significantly different, indicating that both social and environmental variables should be included as confounding factors. For the comprehensive model controlled by all confounding factors, older adults who were of lower education had the highest geriatric depression risks (OR: 1.60 (1.21, 2.12)). Higher percentage of residential area and greater variation in building height within the neighborhood also contributed to geriatric depression risk in Hong Kong, while average building height had negative association with geriatric depression risk. In addition, the socio-environmental vulnerability index showed that higher scores were associated with higher geriatric depression risk at neighborhood scale. The results of mapping and cross-section model suggested that geriatric depression risk was associated with a compact living environment with low socio-economic conditions in historical urban areas in Hong Kong. In conclusion, our study found a significant difference in geriatric depression risk between unadjusted and adjusted models, suggesting the importance of including environmental factors in estimating geriatric depression risk. We also developed a framework to map geriatric depression risk across a city, which can be used for identifying neighborhoods with higher risk for public health surveillance and sustainable urban planning.

Preferred Interpersonal Distances: A Global Comparison

Human spatial behavior has been the focus of hundreds of previous research studies. However, the conclusions and generalizability of previous studies on interpersonal distance preferences were limited by some important methodological and sampling issues. The objective of the present study was to compare preferred interpersonal distances across the world and to overcome the problems observed in previous studies. We present an extensive analysis of interpersonal distances over a large data set ( N = 8,943 participants from 42 countries). We attempted to relate the preferred social, personal, and intimate distances observed in each country to a set of individual characteristics of the participants, and some attributes of their cultures. Our study indicates that individual characteristics (age and gender) influence interpersonal space preferences and that some variation in results can be explained by temperature in a given region. We also present objective values of preferred interpersonal distances in different regions, which might be used as a reference data point in future studies.

The Socioeconomic, Demographic, and Political Effects of Housing in Comparative Perspective

Few sociologists treat housing as a key independent variable, despite the emergence of disparate bodies of research analyzing how housing affects outcomes that traditionally interest sociologists. Scholars across the social sciences have proposed and tested mechanisms whereby housing could shape subjective wellbeing, socioeconomic status, demography, and politics. We review the evidence for causal effects across these domains. Next, we make recommendations for research designs to advance this literature. Most studies only test effects of homeownership, and most are focused on the United States and Western Europe. The evidence for causation is often weak, although studies increasingly employ complex techniques for identifying effects. Throughout, we emphasize studies beyond the United States, and we conclude by discussing distinctive insights yielded by comparative research. We advocate for a comparative perspective and more expansive conceptualization of housing status as a means to build theory and evidence regarding the conditions under which housing exerts effects.

Depressive Symptomology and Hostile Affect among Latinos Using Housing Rental Assistance: the AHOME Study

Studies show that those residing in households subsidized with federal housing vouchers exhibit fewer mental health problems than residents of public housing. The role of housing conditions and neighborhood quality in this relationship is unclear. This study investigated the relationship between rental assistance, housing and neighborhood conditions, and the risk of depressive symptomology and hostile affect among low-income Latino adults living in the Bronx, NY. Latino adults participating in the Affordable Housing as an Obesity Mediating Environment (AHOME) study were used for analysis. All AHOME participants were eligible for federal low-income housing rental assistance (n = 385) and living in the Bronx, New York (2010-2012). Housing (crowding and structural deficiencies) and neighborhood (physical disorder and social cohesion) were measured by questionnaire during in-home interview. Depressive symptomology was measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Short Form, CES-D 10 (score ≥10). Hostile affect was measured using items from the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (score ≥ 4). Results suggest residents of Section 8 housing have similar levels of depressive symptomology and hostility compared to residents in public housing or those receiving no federal housing assistance. However, depressive symptomology was significantly associated with maintenance deficiencies [OR = 1.17; CI 1.02, 1.35] and social cohesion [OR = 0.71; CI 0.55, 0.93]. Hostility was significantly associated with perceived crowding [OR = 1.18; CI 1.16, 2.85], neighborhood physical disorder [OR = 1.94; CI 1.12, 3.40], and social cohesion [OR = 0.70; CI 0.50, 0.98]. Low-income housing assistance did not have an independent effect on mental health outcomes. However, characteristics of the housing and neighborhood environments were associated with depressive symptomology and hostility.

Human-Android Interaction in the Near and Distant Future

In this article, a psychologist and an artificial-intelligence (AI) researcher speculate on the future of social interaction between humans and androids (robots designed to look and act exactly like people). We review the trajectory of currently developing robotics technologies and assess the level of android sophistication likely to be achieved in 50 years time. On the basis of psychological research, we consider obstacles to creating an android indistinguishable from humans. Finally, we discuss the implications of human-android social interaction from the standpoint of current psychological and AI research and speculate on the novel psychological issues likely to arise from such interaction. The science of psychology will face a remarkable new set of challenges in grappling with human-android interaction.

The physical environment and child development: an international review

A growing body of research in the United States and Western Europe documents significant effects of the physical environment (toxins, pollutants, noise, crowding, chaos, and housing, school and neighborhood quality) on children and adolescents' cognitive and socioemotional development. Much less is known about these relations in other contexts, particularly the global South. We thus briefly review the evidence for relations between child development and the physical environment in Western contexts, and discuss some of the known mechanisms behind these relations. We then provide a more extensive review of the research to date outside of Western contexts, with a specific emphasis on research in the global South. Where the research is limited, we highlight relevant data documenting the physical environment conditions experienced by children, and make recommendations for future work. In these recommendations, we highlight the limitations of employing research methodologies developed in Western contexts (Ferguson & Lee, 2013). Finally, we propose a holistic, multidisciplinary, and multilevel approach based on Bronfenbrenner's (1979) bioecological model to better understand and reduce the aversive effects of multiple environmental risk factors on the cognitive and socioemotional development of children across the globe.

A national study of socioeconomic status and tuberculosis rates by country of birth, United States, 1996-2005

BACKGROUND

Tuberculosis (TB) in developed countries has historically been associated with poverty and low socioeconomic status (SES). In the past quarter century, TB in the United States has changed from primarily a disease of native-born to primarily a disease of foreign-born persons, who accounted for more than 60% of newly-diagnosed TB cases in 2010. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of SES with rates of TB in U.S.-born and foreign-born persons in the United States, overall and for the five most common foreign countries of origin.

METHODS

National TB surveillance data for 1996-2005 was linked with ZIP Code-level measures of SES (crowding, unemployment, education, and income) from U.S. Census 2000. ZIP Codes were grouped into quartiles from low SES to high SES and TB rates were calculated for foreign-born and U.S.-born populations in each quartile.

RESULTS

TB rates were highest in the quartiles with low SES for both U.S.-born and foreign-born populations. However, while TB rates increased five-fold or more from the two highest to the two lowest SES quartiles among the U.S.-born, they increased only by a factor of 1.3 among the foreign-born.

CONCLUSIONS

Low SES is only weakly associated with TB among foreign-born persons in the United States. The traditional associations of TB with poverty are not sufficient to explain the epidemiology of TB among foreign-born persons in this country and perhaps in other developed countries. TB outreach and research efforts that focus only on low SES will miss an important segment of the foreign-born population.

Housing quality, housing instability, and maternal mental health

Poor housing conditions and residential instability have been associated with distress among women; however, this association could be the result of other social factors related to housing, such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic hardship. We examined associations of housing conditions and instability with maternal depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) while accounting for IPV and economic hardship in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,104). In the third study wave, interviewers rated indoor housing quality, including housing deterioration (e.g., peeling paint and holes in floor) and housing disarray (e.g., dark, crowded, and noisy). Mothers reported whether they had moved more than twice in the past two years, an indicator of housing instability. A screening for depression and GAD was obtained from questions derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form in the second and third study waves. IPV and economic hardship were assessed through questionnaire. In this sample, 16% of women were classified as having probable depression and 5% as having probable GAD. In adjusted analyses, mothers experiencing housing disarray (odds ratio [OR], 1.3 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0, 1.7]) and instability (OR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.2, 2.3]) were more likely to screen positive for depression. In addition, those experiencing housing instability were more likely to screen positive for GAD (OR 1.9 [95% CI, 1.2, 3.0]) even after adjusting for other social factors. No associations were noted between housing deterioration and maternal mental health. Similar associations were noted when incident cases of probable depression and GAD were examined. Housing instability and disarray, but not deterioration, are associated with screening positive for depression and generalized anxiety among women regardless of other social stressors present in their lives. Housing could potentially present a point of intervention to prevent mental health consequences among mothers and possibly their children.

Relation of home chaos to cognitive performance and behavioral adjustment of Pakistani primary school children

Recent findings from Western developed countries have linked home chaos to children’s cognitive performance and behavioral problems. In the present paper we test whether the same pattern of associations can be replicated in a non-Western developing country. Our sample was 203 Pakistani primary school children. To assess home chaos the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale (CHAOS) was translated into Urdu and administered to mothers. Children were assessed using the parent and teachers rating forms of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children and the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. Home chaos was not related to children’s cognitive performance. However, replicating previous findings from Western developed countries, greater home chaos uniquely predicted higher levels of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems as well as lower levels of adaptive behavior in Pakistani children, as rated by both mothers and teachers.

Migrant farmworkers' housing conditions across an agricultural season in North Carolina

BACKGROUND

Several studies have documented poor housing conditions for farmworkers but none has focused on migrant farmworker housing, which is often provided as a condition of employment. Farmworker housing quality is regulated, but little documentation exists of compliance with regulations.

METHODS

A 2007 survey of 43 randomly selected farmworker camps and a 2008 survey of 27 camps randomly selected from the 2007 sample documented housing conditions via interviewer administered questionnaire and housing checklist.

RESULTS

Substandard conditions are common in migrant housing. All camps had at least one exterior housing problem; 93% had at least one interior problem. Housing conditions worsen across the agricultural season. Characteristics including no residents with H2A visa and 11 or more residents are associated with poorer conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Housing standards are not adequately enforced. An increase in post-occupancy inspections and targeting camps with characteristics that place them at increased risk for substandard conditions are recommended.

When home is where the stress is: expanding the dimensions of housing that influence asthma morbidity

The influence of physical housing quality on childhood asthma expression, especially the effect of exposure to moulds, allergens, and pollutants, is well documented. However, attempts to explain increasing rates and severity of childhood asthma solely through physical environmental factors have been unsuccessful, and additional exposures may be involved. Increasing evidence has linked psychological stress and negative affective states to asthma expression. At the same time, recent scholarship in the social sciences has focused on understanding how social environments, such as housing, "get under the skin" to influence health, and suggests that psychological factors play a key role. While there is relevant overlapping research in social science, psychology, economics, and health policy in this area, findings from these disciplines have not yet been conceptually integrated into ongoing asthma research. We propose to expand the dimensions of housing considered in future asthma research to include both physical and psychological aspects which may directly and indirectly influence onset and severity of disease expression. This synthesis of overlapping research from a number of disciplines argues for the systematic measure of psychological dimensions of housing and consideration of the interplay between housing stress and physical housing characteristics in relation to childhood asthma.

The built environment and mental health

The built environment has direct and indirect effects on mental health. High-rise housing is inimical to the psychological well-being of women with young children. Poor-quality housing appears to increase psychological distress, but methodological issues make it difficult to draw clear conclusions. Mental health of psychiatric patients has been linked to design elements that affect their ability to regulate social interaction (e.g., furniture configuration, privacy). Alzheimer's patients adjust better to small-scale, homier facilities that also have lower levels of stimulation. They are also better adjusted in buildings that accommodate physical wandering. Residential crowding (number of people per room) and loud exterior noise sources (e.g., airports) elevate psychological distress but do not produce serious mental illness. Malodorous air pollutants heighten negative affect, and some toxins (e.g., lead, solvents) cause behavioral disturbances (e.g., self-regulatory ability, aggression). Insufficient daylight is reliably associated with increased depressive symptoms. Indirectly, the physical environment may influence mental health by altering psychosocial processes with known mental health sequelae. Personal control, socially supportive relationships, and restoration from stress and fatigue are all affected by properties of the built environment. More prospective, longitudinal studies and, where feasible, randomized experiments are needed to examine the potential role of the physical environment in mental health. Even more challenging is the task of developing underlying models of how the built environment can affect mental health. It is also likely that some individuals may be more vulnerable to mental health impacts of the built environment. Because exposure to poor environmental conditions is not randomly distributed and tends to concentrate among the poor and ethnic minorities, we also need to focus more attention on the health implications of multiple environmental risk exposure.

The psychology of isolated and confined environments. Understanding human behavior in Antarctica

Psychosocial adaptation to isolated and confined environments exhibits 4 distinct characteristics. First, it is seasonal: Variations in mood are associated with the altered diurnal cycle and psychological segmentation of the mission. Second, it is situational: Concurrent measures of personality, interpersonal needs, and coping styles are better predictors of mood and performance than are predeployment measures. Third, it is social: Members of expeditions with low social coherence report significantly more depression, anxiety, and anger than individuals belonging to expeditions with high social coherence. Fourth, it is salutogenic: Depressed mood is inversely associated with the severity of the physical environment of the station, and the winter-over experience is associated with reduced subsequent rates of hospital admissions, suggesting positive benefits for individuals seeking challenging experiences.

Socioeconomic status and health: the potential role of environmental risk exposure

Among several viable explanations for the ubiquitous SES-health gradient is differential exposure to environmental risk. We document evidence of inverse relations between income and other indices of SES with environmental risk factors including hazardous wastes and other toxins, ambient and indoor air pollutants, water quality, ambient noise, residential crowding, housing quality, educational facilities, work environments, and neighborhood conditions. We then briefly overview evidence that such exposures are inimical to health and well-being. We conclude with a discussion of the research and policy implications of environmental justice, arguing that a particularly salient feature of poverty for health consequences is exposure to multiple environmental risk factors.