A silent burden: How negative experiences with public toilets impact quality of life and life satisfaction.
environmental burden
health psychology
ibd psychology
quality of life
Journal
Scandinavian journal of psychology
ISSN: 1467-9450
Titre abrégé: Scand J Psychol
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0404510
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
Aug 2023
Aug 2023
Historique:
revised:
01
02
2023
received:
29
09
2022
accepted:
06
02
2023
medline:
17
7
2023
pubmed:
24
3
2023
entrez:
23
3
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Public toilets are a critical public health issue with a significant negative impact on people's lives. Unfortunately, the effect of negative experiences caused by public toilets on people's quality of life and life satisfaction is unknown. In this study, participants (n = 550) were asked to fill in a scale-based survey about their negative experiences with public toilets, quality of life, and life satisfaction. We found that people with toilet-dependent illnesses (36% of the sample) reported more negative experiences with public toilets than their counterparts. These negative experiences are also related to lower scores in some areas of participants' quality of life, such as their environmental, psychological, and physical health and life satisfaction, even after controlling for relevant socio-economic variables. Additionally, toilet-dependent individuals had particularly negative experiences in terms of life satisfaction and physical health than non-toilet-dependent people. We conclude that the impoverishment of quality of life linked to public toilets as an environmental inadequacy is traceable, estimable, and meaningful. This association is not only negative for ordinary people, but it is significantly negative for people with toilet-dependent illnesses. These results highlight that public toilets are essential to ensure collective well-being, particularly when considering those affected by their presence or lack thereof.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
495-503Informations de copyright
© 2023 Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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