Crowding as an Environmental Deterrent: Perspectives of Mental Health

Authors: [1] Hotwani Geetu P. [2] Tripathi S. K

Pages: 57-59

Abstract:

The rapid growth of industrialization and lack of opportunity for education & employment in rural areas; rural people migrating to adjacent far off cities in search of livelihood and qualitative living for their children. The environmental setup and ecological balance of cities get disturbed adversely, in terms of civic amenities for its users, as overcrowding at public places has become inevitable. The revelation to overcrowding and population overload in every walk of life induces suffocation stresses among people who find it difficult to endure such constraints in everyday life situations. Furthermore, adolescents perceive it more seriously. The paper would focus on the impact of exposure to crowding and perceived experiential crowding on the emergence of mental health hazards among school/college going students. In addition to it, the characteristic features of mediating factors that affect the direction and magnitude of experiential crowding will be discussed, to propose the theoretical construct, to measure the impact and provide a viable model for implementation to policy makers in order to have cities free of crowding and citizens with positive mental health in India.