Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Jan 7;21(1):12.
doi: 10.1186/s12888-020-03011-2.

Associations between substandard housing and depression: insights from the Korea welfare panel study

Selin Kim  1   2 , Wonjeong Jeong  1   2 , Bich Na Jang  1   2 , Eun-Cheol Park  2   3 , Sung-In Jang  4   5
Affiliations

Associations between substandard housing and depression: insights from the Korea welfare panel study

Selin Kim et al. BMC Psychiatry. .

Abstract

Background: Housing is an important social determinant of health. Poor housing conditions are associated with a wide range of health conditions, including mental health. The study aimed to investigate the association between substandard housing and depression.

Methods: We used panel data collected by the Korea Welfare Panel Study and a sample drawn from waves 11 (2016) to 13 (2018). Substandard housing was defined via three criteria: the minimum residential area and number of rooms by application, essential facility standards, and environmental standards. Depression was measured with the CESD-11. A generalized estimating equation model was used to investigate associations between substandard housing and CESD-11 scores.

Results: Participants living in substandard housing have higher depression scores (male: β = 0.63, female: β = 0.40) than participants who do not live in substandard housing. Participants who do not meet environmental standards have higher depression scores (male: β = 0.85, female: β = 0.66) than participants who do not live in substandard housing; the findings are seen in both men and women.

Conclusion: This study identified an association between substandard housing and depression by gender, and the results were significant. We found that among the three criteria, environmental standards are most likely to be associated with depression. In practical terms, we should consider improving environmental factors of housing to mitigate mental health issues related to substandard housing.

Keywords: Depression; Minimum housing standard; Substandard housing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. HCR U . Official Records of the General Assembly, Forty-third Session, Supplement No. 8, addendum (A/43/8/Add.1) 1989.
    1. CESCR U . General comment no. 4: the right to adequate housing (art. 11 (1) of the covenant) 1991.
    1. Yoshino N, Helble M. The housing challenge in emerging Asia: options and solutions: Asian Development Bank Institute. 2016.
    1. Chung E-C. Low income housing policies in Korea: evaluations and suggestions. 2005. pp. 2–3.
    1. KOSIS. Percentage of households under the minimum housing standard. Available at: http://www.index.go.kr/unify/idx-info.do?idxCd=8014 Accessed 10 May 2020.

Publication types