The Urban Stress and Its Predictors: A of Psychological Study

Abstract

This article investigates the phenomenon of urban stress, caused or exacerbated by the living environment. The methodological basis of the study was Person-Environment Fit Theory. The study involved 396 Russian-speaking urban residents (314 women, 82 men; aged 16–74, M = 25.0, SD = 11.2). Non-clinical states of anxiety, depression, and stress were considered as effects. The Perceived residen- tial environment quality (PREQ) scales (19 subscales), Neighborhood attachment (NA) scale and the Depression, anxiety, and stress scale (DASS-21) were used. The analysis showed that the length of time living in a neighborhood and neighborhood attachment had no associations with indicators of distress, that age was negatively related, and gender moderated the strength of the relationship between the qualities of the urban environment and distress (the connection was stronger in women). A negative connection was found between distress indicators and many qualities of the urban environment. Regression analysis showed that anxiety and stress were most sensitive to the urban environment, and depression was the least sensitive. Moderation analysis showed that ensembles of predictors varied depending on the level of distress indicators; the strongest connections were found in the groups of average distress indicators. It was further shown that the social characteristics of the urban environment contributed more to the prevention of distress, compared with the architectural and physical ones. The results obtained will be helpful in organizing the urban activism events, and should also be taken into account in the renovation and redesign of city blocks.