## Metadata - Author: [[terms and conditions]] - Full Title: Horrible Housemates and the Student Experience | Wonkhe - Category: #Source/articles - URL: https://wonkhe.com/blogs-sus/horrible-housemates-and-the-student-experience/ ## Highlights - the majority (75 percent) of mental health disorders begin before the age of twenty-four. The undergraduates fall within this bracket. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640609)) - This is also the age in which people are found to be “hypersensitive to social exclusion” (Sebastian et al. 2010 ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640610)) - 86 percent) had at least one positive relationship with a housemate, and 49 percent had exclusively positive relationships with all of their housemates, ==Whilst only 8 percent had exclusively negative relationships with all of their housemates, 44 percent lived with one person they had a negative relationship with==. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640635)) - ==Proximity and shared experiences enhance house relationships. Housemates that have closer relationships ate and socialised together.== ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640641)) - Emotional and practical support strengthens bonds. This can range from lending keys or proofreading essays to comforting each other when stressed or facing emotional challenges. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640644)) - Conflict stems from disrespect. At the core of the majority of housemate disagreements was a perceived lack of understanding or concern about others’ needs. This mainly revolved around cleanliness and noise levels. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640647)) - Loneliness, isolation, and distress is common in students who do not have close relationships with their housemates. Isolation ranged from not being invited to group activities to feeling too intimidated to enter communal spaces whilst other members of the house were in them. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640653)) - ==Most students with negative experiences of their housemates did not move house as a result of the conflict, despite thirty-one percent reporting that they had considered it== ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640656)) - It is also important to examine because if relationships deteriorate, students have to live in a hostile environment. ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640667)) - The researchers suggest the following policy implications, which SUs may want to consider: Mediation services with a focus on communal space and conduct Students being allowed/facilitated to transfer accommodation without prohibitive costs Housemate compatibility surveys for incoming students which match students with housemates based on desire to socialise, typical bedtimes, importance of cleanliness Offering ‘quiet accommodation blocks’ and ‘alcohol-free blocks.’ ([View Highlight](https://instapaper.com/read/1479021895/18640670))