The main theoretical frameworks which have been seen to link elements of the built environment to mental health and wellbeing employ some form of environmental stress theory, which sees mental health and wellbeing as determined by the balance between environmental stressors and countervailing protective factors (Halpern, 1995; Northridge et al., 2003). These frameworks are well-supported by the research of empirical studies into the associations between these stressors, and mental health and wellbeing outcomes (Evans, 2003; Halpern, 1995).
Environmental stressors can usually be considered to fall under one of four distinct classes: cataclysmic events, stressful life events, daily hassles, and ambient stressors (Evans and Cohen, 1987). Ambient stressors, a term proposed by Campbell (1983), denotes ‘more continuous and intractable background characteristics of the physical environment’ (Guski, 2001) and is the main link between the Environmental Stress Model and the built environment.
The model examines the relationship between elements of the ambient and built environment and individual mental health outcomes (Baum et al., 1981; Wandersman et al., 1983). Ambient environmental stressors, such as noise, crowding and pollution, are considered along with elements of the built environment such as high-rise housing and are categorised by Wandersman & Nation (1998) as Neighbourhood Characteristics which could be experienced as stressful by residents and users of the spaces, or can often go unnoticed.
When experienced as stressful, individual differences can cause residents and users to develop either successful or unsuccessful coping mechanisms. Most users of the built environment believe they are able to adapt to ambient stressors, as they consider the costs of trying to adapt such stressors higher than simply enduring them (Guski, 2001) although this is not always possible.
In these instances, research into environmental stressors implicate a lack of control as an important component of stress reactions (Evans, 2001). Studies into ambient stressors such as crowding (Baum et al., 1987), air pollution (Rotton, 1983), and noise (Cohen et al., 1986) have each shown that providing individuals with a sense of control over the stressors can substantially reduce the negative impacts of each. For example, if subjects believed they had the ability to shut off noise with a switch, the negative effects of noise were essentially eliminated just from the perception of control (Glass & Singer, 1972).
When individuals are chronically exposed to uncontrollable stimuli, such as ambient environmental stressors, the individual can experience decrements in motivation caused by the belief that the outcomes of one’s actions are independent of those actions (Evans, 2001). This maladaptive passivity is referred to as learned helplessness, and has been researched as a frequent catalyst to social isolation, less prosocial behaviour or decreased academic performance (Wandersman & Nation, 1998). Learned helplessness is considered one of the causes of human problems such as failure, susceptibility to illness and mental health issues such as depression (Seligman & Peterson, 2001). Individuals who report feelings of a loss of control over the immediate social environment in their residencies, often do so in correlation with developing withdrawal strategies to adapt to overcrowded conditions (Baum et al., 1981); children chronically exposed to noise or crowding becoming less likely to persist in attempts to solve challenging puzzles (Evans, 2001); and stress reactions to traffic congestion conditions are partially attributed to decreased perceptions of control (Evans, 2001).
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