HOUSING STRESSORS, SOCIAL SUPPORT AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS

This paper explores the links between housing stressors, social suppor ts and psychological distress. It was hypothesised that exposure to ho using stressors would be significantly related to psychological distre ss, but that the adverse effects of housing stressors would be moderat ed by perceptions of social support resources. In other words, the str ess/symptom relationship would be attenuated for individuals who belie ve that they have active and supportive social relationships. The resu lts of a study conducted in the two New Zealand cities of Auckland and Christchurch partially confirmed this hypothesis, indicating that soc ial support plays a role in mitigating the adverse effects of housing stressors. However, this relationship depends on the severity of the h ousing stressors. Among our respondents, the presence of social suppor t was indeed associated with reduced symptom levels for those exposed to moderate housing stressors. However, among respondents subjected to high levels of housing stressors, social support was not associated w ith reduced psychological distress, indicating the need for a more spe cific policy response to the issue of seriously deficient housing.