Residential Satisfaction and Levels of Environment in Students' Residences

This study investigates the relationship between residential satisfaction and levels of the residential environment. Specifically, it identifies the levels of environment to which users respond in relation to satisfaction, how significant satisfaction is across levels of environment, and the dimensions of satisfaction across the levels. The study uses data collected from 1,124 students in 20 residence halls in four Nigerian universities. Responses to 49 satisfaction items about various attributes of the residence halls are subjected to factor analysis. Three levels of environment, namely, the bedroom, the floor, and the hall emerge from the analysis, and satisfaction is significantly different across these levels. Although the experience of satisfaction is different, separate, and hierarchical at the different levels of environment, the users respond to similar dimensions of satisfaction at each level. The implications of these results are also discussed.