A Psychosocial Approach to Understanding Underground Spaces

Lee, Eun Hee; Christopoulos, George I.; Kwok, Kian Woon; Roberts, Adam Charles; Soh, Chee Kiong

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00452

Cited by 33 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…Social cohesion is understood as an indicator of good relations in the community and between neighbors. It also relates positively to the quality of life of migrants, which promotes their participation in community activities voluntarily and it encourages informal social control (Sampson et al, 1997;Vega et al, 2011;Lee et al, 2017). Positive interactions, integration and solidarity between the endogroup and the exogroup are thus favored.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrimination and Psychosocial Well-Being of Migrants in Spain: The Moderating Role of Sense of Community

et al. 2020

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The discrimination migrants perceive during their adaptation process is one of the main sources of stress and it affects their well-being, health and integration severely. The present study analyses how the sense of community (SOC) can have a protective effect against the perception of discrimination and its negative consequences by verifying the following theoretical model: discrimination predicts three indicators of psychosocial well-being (psychological distress, satisfaction with life and feelings of social exclusion). Furthermore, the theoretical model proposed also considers the hypothesis that SOC has a moderating role on the effect of perceived discrimination regarding the three variables mentioned above. 1714 migrants from Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America who live in Málaga, Spain, participated in the study. Data were collected using random-route sampling and survey methodology. After carrying out multiple regression analyses, using the PROCESS tool in SPSS 20, the theoretical model was verified: SOC reduces the negative effects of perceived discrimination for the variables psychological distress, satisfaction with life and social exclusion feelings. Therefore, migrants who have a greater SOC experience fewer negative consequences, as compared to those with a lower SOC, for whom the consequences of such variables are more negative. These results highlight the importance for migrants to rebuild social networks in the host country and develop a good SOC. Results also allow the development of intervention patterns to favor positive interactions between native population and migrants.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discrimination and Psychosocial Well-Being of Migrants in Spain: The Moderating Role of Sense of Community

et al. 2020

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“…These studies reported that a lack of workplace exposure to natural light was related to depressive symptoms and worse mental health [18,19]. With the expansion of underground environments, more people are likely to work in such spaces, thus additional research has been called for on the psycho-social and health aspects of underground spaces [20]. Indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters are reported to be of concern to occupants in underground workspaces [21][22][23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of psychological distress and its association with perceived indoor environmental quality and workplace factors in under and aboveground workplaces

Dunleavy

Bajpai

Tonon

et al. 2020

Building and Environment

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Developing underground spaces serves a range of common urban functions, including workspaces. However, underground workplaces, work-related factors and the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) parameters within them may negatively affect worker's mental health. This study assessed the prevalence of psychological distress with repeated measures over time in aboveground and underground workspaces, and assessed the association between perceived IEQ parameters and work-related factors with psychological distress. A total of 329 workers in similar aboveground and underground workspaces were followed-up in three assessments over 12 months in Singapore. Psychological distress was assessed using the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) and defined as a GHQ-12 score ≥2. Perceived IEQ (air quality, temperature, noise, light) in the workplace were collected using the OFFICAIR questionnaire. We used generalised estimating equation models to assess the association between working underground, perceived IEQ, and work-related factors with psychological distress. The overall prevalence of psychological distress was 21.9%, 26.1% and 21.9%, at baseline, 3-and 12-months follow-up, respectively. The fully-adjusted multivariable analysis did not show any association between working underground and psychological distress however, perceived IEQ parameters and longer working hours were significantly associated with psychological distress. Regardless of working in under or aboveground workplaces, perceived IEQ was associated with psychological distress. Future studies are needed in order to examine the relationship between objective measures of IEQ and psychological distress and the impact of healthy building policies and improved IEQ on psychological distress.

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“…Underground space refers to a space below the surface of the earth or belowground (3) that is utilized in various forms, such as human construction, including parking lots, subways, tunnels, commercial buildings, and laboratories, mines, including coal, gold, and uranium mines, and even underground animal burrows/caves. Underground space has unique environmental characteristics due to its particular geographical location; a typical characteristic is the enclosed environment below the surface of earth (4), which is prone to cause decreased oxygen concentrations and increased carbon dioxide concentrations (5,6), elevated humidity and temperature (7), increased toxic particle concentrations (8), and accumulation of radioactive radon (9). The underground space environment is also characterized by a low dose of cosmic radiation and lack of sunshine due to shielding by thick soil and rock (2).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oxidative Stress From Exposure to the Underground Space Environment

Gao

Zhou

2020

Front. Public Health

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There are a growing number of people entering underground spaces. However, underground spaces have unique environmental characteristics, and little is known about their effects on human health. It is crucial to elucidate the effects of the underground space environment on the health of humans and other organisms. This paper reviews the effects of hypoxia, toxic atmospheric particles, and low background radiation in the underground space environment on living organisms from the perspective of oxidative stress. Most studies have revealed that living organisms maintained in underground space environments exhibit obvious oxidative stress, which manifests as changes in oxidants, antioxidant enzyme activity, genetic damage, and even disease status. However, there are few relevant studies, and the pathophysiological mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. There remains an urgent need to focus on the biological effects of other underground environmental factors on humans and other organisms as well as the underlying mechanisms. In addition, based on biological research, exploring means to protect humans and living organisms in underground environments is also essential.

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A Psychosocial Approach to Understanding Underground Spaces

Cited by 33 publications

References 48 publications

Discrimination and Psychosocial Well-Being of Migrants in Spain: The Moderating Role of Sense of Community

Discrimination and Psychosocial Well-Being of Migrants in Spain: The Moderating Role of Sense of Community

Prevalence of psychological distress and its association with perceived indoor environmental quality and workplace factors in under and aboveground workplaces

Oxidative Stress From Exposure to the Underground Space Environment

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