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City Dweller Responses to Multiple Stressors Intruding into Their Homes: Noise, Light, Odour, and Vibration

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  • Eja Pedersen

    (Environmental Psychology, Department of Architecture and Built Environment, Lund University, P.O. Box 118, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden)

Abstract

Urban densification increases exposure to noise, light, odour, and vibration in urban dwellings. Exposure from combined environmental stressors intruding into the home could increase the risk of adverse effects on wellbeing, even when the exposure is at a relatively low level. This study assesses the prevalence of annoyance with a combination of potential environmental stressors common in urban areas and the association with wellbeing. A questionnaire was sent by mail to residents in five areas in Halmstad (Sweden) with similar socioeconomic and housing characteristics but different exposure (response rate 56%; n = 385). Of the respondents, 50% were annoyed to some degree by at least one of the suggested stressors, most commonly by noise and vibration from local traffic. Structural equation modelling showed that annoyance led to lowered quality of life via the mediating construct residential satisfaction, which in turn was influenced by place attachment and perceived restoration possibilities in the dwelling. Stress had a negative impact on quality of life, but was not directly correlated to annoyance. Stress was however correlated with sensitivity. The findings suggest that dose-response relationships for environmental stressors should be studied in a broader context of environmental and individual factors. Also relatively low levels of exposure should be mitigated, especially if several stressors are present.

Suggested Citation

  • Eja Pedersen, 2015. "City Dweller Responses to Multiple Stressors Intruding into Their Homes: Noise, Light, Odour, and Vibration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-18, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:3:p:3246-3263:d:46970
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. ED Diener, 1995. "A value based index for measuring national quality of life," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 107-127, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Quan Qiu & Ling Yang & Mei He & Wen Gao & Harrison Mar & Jiyue Li & Guangyu Wang, 2022. "The Effects of Forest Therapy on the Blood Pressure and Salivary Cortisol Levels of Urban Residents: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.
    2. Alison M. Bamber & Stephanie H. Hasanali & Anil S. Nair & Sharon M. Watkins & Daniel I. Vigil & Michael Van Dyke & Tami S. McMullin & Kristy Richardson, 2019. "A Systematic Review of the Epidemiologic Literature Assessing Health Outcomes in Populations Living near Oil and Natural Gas Operations: Study Quality and Future Recommendations," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-20, June.
    3. Daniel Shepherd & Kim Dirks & David Welch & David McBride & Jason Landon, 2016. "The Covariance between Air Pollution Annoyance and Noise Annoyance, and Its Relationship with Health-Related Quality of Life," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-15, August.
    4. Małgorzata Pawlaczyk-Łuszczyńska & Kamil Zaborowski & Adam Dudarewicz & Małgorzata Zamojska-Daniszewska & Małgorzata Waszkowska, 2018. "Response to Noise Emitted by Wind Farms in People Living in Nearby Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-36, July.
    5. Matthias Braubach & Myriam Tobollik & Pierpaolo Mudu & Rosemary Hiscock & Dimitris Chapizanis & Denis A. Sarigiannis & Menno Keuken & Laura Perez & Marco Martuzzi, 2015. "Development of a Quantitative Methodology to Assess the Impacts of Urban Transport Interventions and Related Noise on Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-23, May.
    6. Aneta Wierzbicka & Eja Pedersen & Roger Persson & Birgitta Nordquist & Kristian Stålne & Chuansi Gao & Lars-Erik Harderup & Jonas Borell & Héctor Caltenco & Barry Ness & Emilie Stroh & Yujing Li & Mat, 2018. "Healthy Indoor Environments: The Need for a Holistic Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, August.
    7. Nicola Mucci & Veronica Traversini & Chiara Lorini & Simone De Sio & Raymond P. Galea & Guglielmo Bonaccorsi & Giulio Arcangeli, 2020. "Urban Noise and Psychological Distress: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-22, September.
    8. Dongliang Yang & Xiangheng Liu & Zhichao Ren & Mingna Li, 2022. "Relation between Noise Pollution and Life Satisfaction Based on the 2019 Chinese Social Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-13, June.

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