Meagher and colleagues probed bonds people form to their homes. They learned that among their study participants “home attachment was predicted positively by descriptions of the home’s restorative properties and negatively by . . . a lack of adequate space. . . . restorative emotional experiences . . . and an adequate amount of physical space were all uniquely predictive of home attachment. . . . there appears to be a close relationship between the psychological experience of emotional restoration within the home and a feeling of attachment to it. . . . More than any other location in most people’s lives, people can adapt [their home] to help regulate desired emotions and behaviors . . . facilitating positive affect, rest, relaxation, and comfort.”
Benjamin Meagher, Sara Kraus, Aliana Alvarez-Gomez, Kathleen Donague, Tyler Kennedy, Collin Kline, Kendahl Miller, Erin Moran, and MacKenna Shampine. “Predicting Home Attachment Through Its Psychological Costs and Benefits: Restoration, Space, and Social Relationships.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, in press, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102404