HOW INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY AFFECTS RESIDENTIAL SATISFACTION BY CONSIDERING THE ROLE OF LIFE STRESS AND GENDER
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21837/pm.v24i43.2134Keywords:
Indoor Environmental Quality, Life Stress, Residential Satisfaction, Apartment ComplexesAbstract
Residential satisfaction, defined as individuals’ evaluative responses to their living environments, is shaped by the interaction between physical environmental quality and psychological well-being. Although Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) has been widely studied in relation to residential comfort, the psychological mechanisms linking IEQ to satisfaction remain insufficiently understood. In particular, the role of life stress as a mediating or moderating factor has received limited empirical attention. Guided by Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) theory, this study examines how key IEQ dimensions—air quality, visual comfort, and acoustic comfort—influence residential satisfaction among working-age residents in high-rise apartment complexes, and whether these relationships are mediated by life stress and moderated by gender. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted with 454 residents of the Shengda Jingdu Apartment Complex in Haikou, China. Structural equation modelling (SEM) indicates that IEQ significantly predicts residential satisfaction both directly and indirectly through life stress. Furthermore, gender moderates these effects, with male residents deriving stronger life stress reducing benefits from IEQ. These results suggest that residential design should integrate environmental quality improvement with psychological well-being considerations to foster healthier and more satisfying indoor living environments.
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