Public Housing Relocation and Its Effect on Residents' Self-esteem and Self-efficacy

In 2008, Atlanta was the first city in the United States to completely eliminate its highrise public housing projects. Georgia State University professors Drs. Ruel, Oakley, and Reid undertook a three-year study to determine the health, behavior, and attitudes of residents both before and after relocation. This study sought to determine whether residents’ self-esteem and self-efficacy improved after relocation into areas that have lower levels of social disorder and poor housing conditions. Overall, results show that while housing conditions, social disorder, and fear of crime had little or no significant effect on changes in residents’ self-esteem, an improvement in these indicators in residents’ new neighborhoods had a significant effect on selfefficacy. The significance of decreased social disorder and poor housing conditions, as well as fear of crime on residents’ self-efficacy (but not self-esteem) has important implications for future research regarding neighborhood and housing effects as well as public housing relocation. INDEX WORDS: Public housing, Self-esteem, Self-efficacy, Neighborhood effects, Social disorder, Housing conditions, Relocation PUBLIC HOUSING RELOCATION AND ITS EFFECT ON RESIDENTS’ SELF-ESTEEM AND SELF-EFFICACY