Correlates of dormitory satisfaction and differences involving social density and room locations

Abstract

The basic variables associated with the dormitory satisfaction of 140 undergraduate university students were examined using a questionnaire. Secondly, the roles of (a) gender differences and (b) distance of the rooms to communal areas, (c) room density (i.e., identical rooms housing three vs. four students), and (d) dormitory layout (i.e., clustered vs. long corridor design) on crowding and privacy were explored. The aims of the present studies were twofold: The first aim was to explore variables associated with students’ satisfaction with their university dormitories. The second aim was to examine differences in dormitory satisfaction as a function of density, room location with respect to hallway design, and distance to communal areas. The results indicated that the level of dormitory satisfaction seems to increase with decreasing room density, having a clustered hallway design as opposed to a long corridor design, and being further away from as opposed to closer to communal areas. In other words, higher density and proximity of rooms to communal areas seem to increase crowding and reduce privacy. Although female students reported being less satisfied with their dormitories, they seemed to be more satisfied with their social relationships compared to men. The study examines the role of multiple factors involving the relationship of room density, dormitory design, distance of rooms to communal areas with reported privacy, crowding, and dormitory satisfaction using both correlational data and field experiments. The results may contribute to improving dormitory designs and enhance our understanding of issues related to privacy and dormitory satisfaction.