Development and validation of the perception of housing quality scale (PHQS)

In this study, we aimed to develop and validate the Perception of Housing Quality Scale (PHQS), a multi-item, multi-factorial measure of perceived housing quality focused on peoples homes as the unit of analysis and based on individuals perceptions of how much the physical aspects of their home environments fulfill their daily needs. The instrument was developed by a multidisciplinary team comprising psychologists and architects for the identification of the main factors describing the perceived quality of the physical features of home environments. Confirmatory factor analysis performed on the data, collected from a quota sample comprising 285 Italian adults aged between 25 and 65 (women = 52.3%, Mage = 42.81, SD = 12.73), confirmed the hypothesis that two correlated factors define perceived housing quality: "Indoor environment and architectural design" and "Outdoor stressors." These factors revealed the expected correlations with home ownership and the discrepancy between the actual and the ideal home. The implications of this scale in housing research are discussed.