Home-made blues: Residential crowding and mental health in Beijing, China

• Published in: Urban studies (Edinburgh, Scotland) Vol. 60; no. 3; pp. 461 - 482
• Main Authors: Wang, Xize, Liu, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01.02.2023; Sage Publications Ltd
• Subjects: Bedrooms; Crowding; Crowding stress; Housing market; Inequality; Life stress; Living space; Mental depression; Mental health; Residents; Social justice; Stress; Subgroups; Urban population; Well being; Beijing China; China; well-being; housing; 过度拥挤; 福祉; China; 健康; health; 中国; 住房; 城市规划; urban planning; overcrowding
• ISSN: 0042-0980; 1360-063X
• DOI: 10.1177/00420980221101707

Although residential crowding has many well-being implications, its connection to mental health is yet to be widely examined. Using survey data from 1613 residents in Beijing, China, we find that living in a crowded place – measured by both square metres per person and persons per bedroom – is significantly associated with a higher risk of depression. We test for the mechanisms of such associations and find that the residential crowding–depression link arises through increased living space-specific stress rather than increased life stress. We also identify the following subgroups that have relatively stronger residential crowding–depression associations: females, those living with children, those not living with parents, and those living in non-market housing units. Our findings show that inequality in living space among urban residents not only is an important social justice issue but also has health implications.