Social ecology of the megadorm in university student housing

Investigated the influence of high- vs low-rise building design on the psychosocial climate of university residence hall environments, as measured by the University Residence Environment Scale administered to 110 freshmen residents on a large state university campus. It was hypothesized that physical design features (building size and floor level) would differentially influence perception of social environments. These features significantly affected degree of commitment Ss felt for one another, patterns of interaction and emotional support, and level of involvement in organizational functioning. Results strongly support the usefulness of the University Residence Environment Scale as an evaluative tool to assess psychosocial consequences of architectural decisions. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).