Measuring residential satisfaction: a residential environmental satisfaction scale (RESS): Fid-Bau Portal

Measuring residential satisfaction: a residential environmental satisfaction scale (RESS)

Adriaanse, C. C. M.

Abstract The aim of this article is to introduce an integrative and more comprehensive approach to measurement of residential environmental satisfaction. Domains of residential environmental satisfaction were empirically examined using techniques for multivariate analysis. Data were mainly drawn from the Housing Demand Survey (WoningBehoefteOnderzoek 2002), an a-select sample of 75,034 respondents that is representative for the population of Dutch residents in 2002. The Housing Demand Survey is one of the most extensive sample surveys in the Netherlands and is held every 4 years. The results of exploratory factor analysis give empirical support for the usefulness of the theoretically proposed three-component model of residential environmental satisfaction. Furthermore, multi-group analysis supports the assumption of similarity of perceived quality of the living situation among people varying in degree of residential environmental satisfaction. Reliability and validity tests confirm that the Residential Environmental Satisfaction Scale-Dutch Language Version (RESS-DLV) is an adequate instrument and that it contributes to the understanding of the perceived quality of the living situation. The measure correlates as expected with various criterion measures. The compact and valid instrument RESS-DLV—and especially its abbreviated version—can be very useful as the dependent or the independent variable variable in research carried out in the Netherlands and other European countries. First pattern detection in satisfaction severity groups indicates that satisfaction with the subdomain ‘residential social climate’ is the most significant component of overall residential satisfaction.