Residential satisfaction in students' housing

AbstracTThis paper reports the results of a study of residential satisfaction in students' housing in Nigeria. The study examined how satisfied students were and the factors which predicted residential satisfaction. Specifically, it examined whether the morphological configurations of the halls of residence would predict residential satisfaction. Data were obtained from questionnaires distributed to a sample of 1124 respondents from all the halls of residences in four residential universities in Southwestern Nigeria. The data comprised objective and subjective measures of the physical, social and management attributes of the halls of residence. These were analyzed using frequencies, factor analysis and categorical regression models. More than half (53%) of the respondents were dissatisfied with their residences and the variables which explained satisfaction were the social qualities of the residences, especially, the social densities; the kitchenette, bathroom and storage facilities and some demographic characteristics of the students. The morphological configuration of the halls of residence was also found to be a predictor of satisfaction and the characteristics which appeared most significant were the plan form and the length of the corridor. The regression model explained 65% of the variance in R2. An instructive finding was that satisfaction appeared most critical in the bedroom.