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

Ferdinando Fornara; Oriana Mosca; Andrea Bosco; Alessandro O Caffò; Antonella Lopez; Tina Iachini; Gennaro Ruggiero; Francesco Ruotolo; Filomena Leonela Sbordone; Antonella Ferrara; Zaira Cattaneo; Maria Arioli; Francesca Frassinetti; Michela Candini; Laura Miola; Francesca Pazzaglia

doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101747

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

J Environ Psychol. 2022 Feb:79:101747. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101747. Epub 2021 Dec 13.

Authors

Ferdinando Fornara¹, Oriana Mosca¹, Andrea Bosco², Alessandro O Caffò², Antonella Lopez², Tina Iachini³, Gennaro Ruggiero³, Francesco Ruotolo³, Filomena Leonela Sbordone³, Antonella Ferrara³, Zaira Cattaneo⁴, Maria Arioli⁴, Francesca Frassinetti⁵, Michela Candini⁵, Laura Miola⁶, Francesca Pazzaglia⁶

Affiliations

¹ University of Cagliari, Department of Education, Psychology, Philosophy, Cagliari, Italy.
² University of Bari, Department of Educational Sciences, Psychology, Communication, Bari, Italy.
³ University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Department of Psychology, Caserta, Italy.
⁴ University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Psychology, Milan, Italy.
⁵ University of Bologna, Department of Psychology, Bologna, Italy.
⁶ University of Padua, Department of General Psychology, Padua, Italy.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Crowding; Perceived risk of COVID-19 infection; Perceived stress; Restricted movement; Satisfaction with the space at home.