Gender, genes, and the stress-buffering benefits of “home”: Evidence from two national U.S. studies

People often perceive that their homes provide refuge from stress, but some homes may provide more stress-buffering resources than others. In particular, single-family homes may provide greater resources, such as status or defensible territory, compared to multi-family homes. Given historical links among gender, home-based status, and territory defense, these benefits may affect men more than women. Data from two national, longitudinal surveys of U.S. adults (Ns = 1717 & 6393) indicated that living in single-family versus multi-family structures buffered the association between stressful events and distress among men, but not women. This pattern was not explained by home ownership, income, financial assets, education, or marital status. Also, in Study 1, the stress-buffering role of home type existed specifically among men most sensitive to the territory-linked neurohormone vasopressin. Home type may be an important factor in coping with stress, particularly among men, and especially for men who are more vasopressin sensitive.