Zhu Yushu, Holden Meg
Simon Fraser University, 515 W Hastings St, Vancouver, BC, V6B 5K3, Canada.
Habitat Int. 2023 May;135:102812. doi: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102812. Epub 2023 Mar 23.
The loss of psychosocial well-being is an overlooked but monumental consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These effects result not only from the pandemic itself but, in a secondary way, from the Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) made to curb the spread of disease. The unprecedented physical distancing and stay-at-home requirements and recommendations provide a unique window for housing researchers to better understand the mechanisms by which housing affects psychosocial well-being. This study draws on a survey conducted with over 2,000 residents of the neighbouring Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta in 2021. We propose a new multi-dimensional model to examine the relationships between the Material, Economic, Affordances, Neighbourhood, and Stability (MEANS) aspects of housing and psychosocial well-being. Our analysis reveals the direct and indirect pathways by which deficiencies in each of these areas had negative effects on psychosocial well-being. Residential stability, housing affordances, and neighbourhood accessibility exert stronger direct impacts on psychosocial well-being than material and economic housing indicators (e.g. size of living space and tenure). Notably, we find no significant well-being differences between different homeowners and renters when we account for other housing MEANS. These findings have important implications for housing policy across pandemic and post-pandemic contexts, suggesting a need for research and policy focus on understanding housing and well-being in terms of non-material aspects, such as residential stability and affordances that housing provides.
心理社会幸福感的丧失是新冠疫情一个被忽视但意义重大的后果。这些影响不仅源于疫情本身，其次还源于为遏制疾病传播而采取的非药物干预措施（NPIs）。前所未有的社交距离要求以及居家要求和建议，为住房研究人员提供了一个独特的窗口，以便更好地理解住房影响心理社会幸福感的机制。本研究借鉴了2021年对加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省和艾伯塔省相邻省份的2000多名居民进行的一项调查。我们提出了一个新的多维模型，以研究住房的物质、经济、可及性、邻里关系和稳定性（MEANS）方面与心理社会幸福感之间的关系。我们的分析揭示了这些领域中每个领域的不足对心理社会幸福感产生负面影响的直接和间接途径。居住稳定性、住房可及性和邻里可达性对心理社会幸福感的直接影响比住房的物质和经济指标（如居住空间大小和权属）更强。值得注意的是，当我们考虑其他住房MEANS因素时，我们发现不同的房主和租客在幸福感方面没有显著差异。这些发现对疫情期间及疫情后的住房政策具有重要意义，表明研究和政策需要关注从非物质方面理解住房与幸福感，如居住稳定性和住房提供的可及性。
