| This dissertation is concerned with person-environment theory, its application to student housing, and its implications for counseling research and practice. The study involves an examination of student housing and its relation to four psychological variables including sense of community, leadership development, social support (amount), and social support (quality). The two forms of housing that are compared include residence halls and cooperatives.;The main difference between the two forms of housing in this investigation pertains to their social structures. Residence halls are fairly hierarchical in social structure as hired staff attend to the designing, running, and maintaining of the housing facility. Cooperatives are run by resident membership. Students living in this form of housing are responsible for decision-making, budgeting, cooking, maintaining the facility, and many other necessary tasks.;The two forms of housing in this study were examined within colleges in three geographical locations (Northern Ohio, Southern Ontario, and Western New York) and a sample of 231 students was drawn. Participants were provided with three questionnaires corresponding with the three psychological variables explored in the study. In addition, six participants were interviewed regarding their sense of community within their housing. The researcher hypothesized that housing type would be associated with a significant difference in the four variables and that gender and the location from which participants were drawn would not make a difference.;Results of this study confirmed that housing type was associated with a significant difference for social support (quality), that location did not make a significant difference for social support (quality), and that gender did not make a significant difference for the four variables. The researcher was unable to determine the exact status of the remaining hypotheses in the study due to a significant interaction between location and housing type. However, the results of this study may have implications for research and counseling as it points toward the evident significance of the environment on psychological well being. |
