Home habitability, perceived stress and antisocial behaviour (Habitabilidad de la vivienda, estrés percibido y conducta antisocial)

Abstract

ABSTRACT Poor habitability conditions have a negative impact on people’s mental health and influence their perception of stress and their adoption of antisocial behaviours. Through a non-experimental, transversal, correlational-causal design, we checked the mediating role of perceived stress between habitability and antisocial behaviour in people from low socioeconomic strata in northwest Mexico. The sample was comprised of 350 people with an average age of 40.65 (SD = 15.18). Through a structural equations model (SEM), we demonstrated that poor home habitability conditions influence perceived stress, and that perceived stress, in turn, influences antisocial and criminal behaviour (R 2 = 43%). The results reveal the importance of considering unfavourable physical conditions in homes as a stimulator of disruptive and violent behaviours.