Privacy and psychosomatic stress: An empirical analysis

This study examines the unsubstantiated but widely accepted supposition that insufficient privacy is stressful to the individual. Data were obtained through personal interviews with 1279 persons randomly selected from seven major urban centers in New Zealand. The findings provide substantial support for the hypothesis that a perceived lack of privacy is directly associated with psychosomatic stress. The relationship is also specified in terms of various measures of stress as well as by the sex of respondents.