This paper examines the relationship between mental health outcomes and the characteristics of the housing, neighborhood and social environment of persons with mental illness living in independent settings in the community. The research is based on time-series data covering the 1988-1993 period and includes 153 buildings (nearly 700 housing units) developed by four of the nine sites that participated in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Program on Chronic Mental Illness. All buildings in the sample provide small-scale, good quality, noninstitutional environments with no on-site services. The analysis relies on OLS regression models with mental health outcomes as the dependent variable and a vector of housing and neighborhood attributes, tenant mix and building management characteristics as independent variables. The key finding is that, in this sample, the physical environment has only minor effects on behavioral outcomes while the social environment, measured by tenant mix in the building, plays a critical role: people with mental illness tend to fare better when they live with others like themselves. The results suggest that once tenants with mental illness are living in "regular" apartments in the community, the presence of peers has salutary effects.
Learning Objectives: Participants in this session will learn about differences in mental health outcomes for persons with severe mental illness that pertain to the housing and neighborhood environments in which these individuals live
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.