Feeling of Crowding and Psychiatric Disorders

Relationship of high population density to mental illness has been well known. The feeling of crowding has also been found to have a causal influence on individual's mental health. Recently, it has been reported that even in high population density, the individuals w ho have a high feeling of crowding are more prone to mental illness. However, no attempt has been made by Indian researchers to study whether the amount of feeling of crowding which is supposed to be a cause of mental illness in high dense areas differs in various, psychiatric disorders. Thus, a prospective study which included 150 psychiatric patients suffering from schizophrenia, affective disorders and neuroses and 50 normal subjects, selected from high dense area of Bikaner city was taken up to find out (1) whether the amount of feeling of crowding differs in schizophrenia, affective disorders, neuroses and normal, and (2) whether the severity of illness in these subjects has any relationship of the feeling of crowding experienced by them. Results revealed that feeling of crowding differs in schizophrenics, patients with affective disorders, neurotics and normal subjects. The scores of feeling of crowding and severity of illness of all these subjects had a positive relationship. Results and their implications are discussed.