Accurately measuring residential satisfaction is important when it comes to guiding architectural design strategies that improve people’s quality of life in line with their needs. The aim of this study was to create and validate a specific instrument to measure residential satisfaction in a Mexican context. The study began with a qualitative assessment of residential satisfaction across three categories – home, neighbourhood and neighbours – using the natural semantic networks technique on a sample of 90 people from the general population. Based on these assessments, a 19-item Likert-type scale was designed. The construct validity of this scale was analysed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis with samples from the general population ( N = 201 and N = 412, respectively). The results revealed two factors explaining 63.55% of the total variance: ‘satisfaction with the home’ (McDonald’s omega coefficient = .88) and ‘satisfaction with the neighbourhood unit’ (McDonald’s omega coefficient = .92). The scale demonstrated good psychometric properties for measuring residential satisfaction in the context studied.
This study examines the psycho-environmental impacts of urban deterioration in Valparaíso, Chile, focusing on symbolic dispossession processes and precarious forms of dwelling. We conducted 34 spatially referenced in-depth interviews with residents from the city’s different neighbourhoods and analysed them using a thematic analysis approach. Findings reveal how material decay – garbage, insecurity and perceived institutional neglect – destabilises place identity and generates feelings of incongruence and estrangement. However, affective bonds with the city do not disappear; rather, they are reconfigured into nostalgic place attachment, where memories of a more prosperous past sustain a sense of belonging. At the same time, residents report micro-segregations: restricted routes, avoidance of public spaces and symbolic boundaries that fragment daily life, exemplifying what the literature describes as symbolic displacement. Overall, these findings demonstrate that urban deterioration functions as a process of symbolic dispossession that intertwines disrupted identities, nostalgic reattachments and affective boundaries, producing subjective precariousness even without residential displacement.
The goal of this research is to study the psychosocial differences between two profiles of environmental ethics, namely biocentrism and anthropocentrism, which entail greater and lesser moral inclusivity, respectively. It studies their correlates and both orientations’ relationship with a behavioural commitment to social and environmental causes. Regarding methodology, an online questionnaire was used with a sample of 353 participants. Descriptive, correlative, regression and mediation analyses were performed to check the hypotheses. The results indicate that biocentrism and anthropocentrism are two distinct orientations of beliefs about the moral status of living beings. Biocentric beliefs play an important role in involvement in social participation actions for causes both human and nature-related, while anthropocentric beliefs do not have this capacity for mobilisation. Finally, given that the results provide new evidence, possible theoretical and practical implications and future avenues of research are discussed.
This study explored urban environments in terms of psychological restorativeness. The aim was to expand the frequently used but conceptually limited dichotomy of natural vs. urban settings by adding a distinction between serene and busy urban environments. In an online study, 381 participants were exposed to natural, calm urban, or busy urban environments. Perceived restorativeness of the environment was evaluated using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS), in which we explored new compatibility items. Results revealed the hypothesized hierarchical order in which nature was perceived as most restorative, followed by a calm urban environment, whereas a busy urban environment showed the least restorative qualities. Moreover, factor analysis identified a six-factor structure in the PRS, highlighting that the alternative compatibility factor contained comfort and identity facets. Moving research on restorativeness beyond the conventional nature-centric perspective, together this suggests that next to natural environments, serene urban environments may offer easily accessible restorative opportunities.
The aim of this study is to analyse the role of place attachment in young people’s community involvement compared to community satisfaction and social trust. The hypothesis put forward is that place attachment will have greater relevance in explaining community involvement than community satisfaction and social trust. A total of 243 young individuals responded to a questionnaire that included items about social participation, place attachment, satisfaction with community resources and social trust. In the structural model tested, which obtained an adequate fit, the latent variable Community Involvement, encompassing Individual Participation in the Neighbourhood, Community Participation in the Neighbourhood, Neighbourhood Civic Participation and Individual Civic Participation, was significantly predicted by Place Attachment and Social Trust. Community Satisfaction showed a positive but not significant association. The three variables explained 73.4% of the variance in Community Involvement. These results highlight the role of emotional ties to a place and social trust in promoting community engagement among young people.
