Self-help Articles

by Gary W. Evans, Ph.D., Stephen J. Lepore, Ph.D.
& Alex Schroeder, J.D.

Being stuck indoors, especially during the winter, is bad enough. It is even worse under crowded conditions. According to a study that looked at the effects of household crowding on people's well-being, architecture can make all the difference.

The study found that residents living in crowded homes with a greater number of spaces one must pass through to get from one room to another are less likely to avoid social interaction or suffer from nervousness, anxiety or depression than those living in crowded homes with less space between rooms.

The authors asked 212 college students who were living off campus a series of questions to determine how the design of their living conditions affected their well-being. The participants were also asked the number of roommates they had, if they were experiencing psychological distress and whether they were purposely avoiding their roommates.

"We discovered that roommates who avoided others in their house did this to ward off the excessive and unwanted social demands," said Dr. Evans. "But by social withdrawing, the roommates unintentionally cut off their social support system and ended up feeling isolated and anxious."

But what also seems to be true, said Dr. Evans, is that the architectural arrangement of those rooms can make a difference. "Maintaining one's privacy can be achieved through a combination of psychological and environmental coping process," concluded the authors.

Architecture is one thing you cannot easily change, but changing your psychological coping might include being more assertive. Training your house-mates or family to knock on your door, ask if you have a few minutes before starting a conversation with you and hearing your when you say you are too busy can be a good start. Learning how to politely but firmly let others know when you need to be left alone can also help.

Much like professors who set office hours, or doctors who let you know their office hours, people can get better at setting limits with each other by communicating that they are open to requests, invitations or visits by:

• putting a sign on their door
• putting a sign on their back
• saying things like "Friday is my day to relax but today I need to work" or
• "What if I finish this and then I'll get back to you?" can also help.

Whatever your words might be, if you are feeling intruded upon, it's ok to let people know that you need to be left alone at specific times. Find a polite yet no-nonsense way of getting people to respect your territory.

Reference:

Gary W. Evans, Ph.D., Stephen J. Lepore, Ph.D. & Alex Schroeder, J.D. (1998). "The Role of Interior Design Elements in Human Responses to Crowding" Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 70, No. 1, pp 41-46.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.