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Housing design and people with severe mental illness: An observational approach to the investigation of supported housing facilities
Author(s) -
Marcheschi Elizabeth,
Johansson Maria,
Laike Thorbjörn,
Brunt David
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/sjop.12259
Subject(s) - observational study , psychology , perception , quality (philosophy) , built environment , supportive housing , housing first , mental illness , applied psychology , public housing , mental health , engineering , medicine , civil engineering , psychiatry , pathology , philosophy , epistemology , neuroscience
An observational approach was employed to investigate the role played by architectural characteristics of supported housing facilities ( SHF ) in sustaining interactional behavior among people with severe mental illness ( SMI ) (N = 29) and staff (N = 27). The observations were carried out in dining areas, corridors and outdoor environments of SHF (N = 4). In order to test differences in the observed behaviors two SHF s with high physical‐environment quality ( HQ ) and two with low physical‐environment quality ( LQ ) according to the perception of people with SMI were chosen. Results showed that the dining areas of HQ better support social interactions between SHF users. No differences between the housing facilities were found concerning corridors areas, while housing facilities that provided proximity and accessibility to outdoor environments, such as those with HQ , were significantly more supportive for social interactional behavior than LQ housing. These results corroborate previous findings from this project and suggest that the characteristics of the housing design have a significant impact on the use of the environment and on the behavior patterns in the setting.