Theodore D. FullerJohn N. EdwardsSairudee VorakitphokatornSanthat SermsriVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityMahidol University2018-07-042018-07-041996-01-01Social Science and Medicine. Vol.42, No.2 (1996), 265-280027795362-s2.0-0030025510https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/20.500.14594/17526This paper examines the effect of one form of chronic stress - household crowding - on psychological well-being, as measured by multiple inverse indicators of psychological well-being. We rely on data from a large (n = 2017) random sample of households in Bangkok, Thailand, a context that has a higher level and broader range of crowding than typically found in the United States. Objective household crowding is found to be detrimental to psychological well-being, controlling for a number of background characteristics. The effect of objective crowding is mediated by subjective crowding, which has strong, consistent and direct detrimental effects on well-being. There is no evidence of a gender effect. Extended family households are not uncommon in Bangkok, but the effects of objective and subjective crowding are similar in both two- and three-generation households, as well as in one- and multiple-couple households. The argument that subjective crowding is an effect, rather than a cause, of psychological well-being is examined and rejected. The findings suggest that crowding, as a chronic source of stress, constitutes a major threat to psychological well-being. Although the empirical analyses are based on data from one city, we frame the issue of household crowding in a historical and theoretical context in order to suggest in which cultural settings household crowding is most likely to have detrimental effects on psychological well-being.Mahidol UniversityArts and HumanitiesSocial SciencesArticleSCOPUS10.1016/0277-9536(95)00089-5