Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Interventions to Manage the

Stress of Living With a New Roommate

Angelo M. Piner

Introduction

As we progress through the many milestones of life, we

overcome countless obstacles and stressors associated with those
achievements. The first day of kindergarten, the first day of playing on
the football team, the first day of high school all of these life events
present new and unique stressors associated with the experience.
Perhaps the ultimate stressor in many young lives is attending
university. A particular stressor associated with this transition is
housing. Many freshman students do not live in the city of their
university and therefore need to find some sort of housing. Many
students stay in the dormitories on campus with randomly assigned
roommates.
The thought of sharing a living space with a total stranger is a
terrifying concept; however, the actuality of sharing a living space with
a total stranger is completely manageable through the use of
interpersonal and intrapersonal interventions. With an interpersonal
intervention, the goal is to eliminate or reduce stress between more
than one individual. An intrapersonal intervention aims to reduce or
eliminate stress for a single individual. With these two interventions
working in tandem, the stress of moving in with a new roommate can
be managed efficiently.

To determine whether the use of interpersonal and intrapersonal

interventions was successful in managing this new stressor, an initial
stress assessment will be given at the start of the semester, and a final
stress assessment will be given at the end of the semester. The
assessment used will be the Perceived Stress Scale, an assessment
used regularly to show the effectiveness of stress reducing
interventions (Lane 2007).

The Interpersonal Intervention

The first step to managing the stress of having a new roommate

begins with an interpersonal intervention. In this intervention, the
roommates (say, a total of three) will be required to express any and
all concerns that they have with how their living environments will
interact, what guidelines will be in place (chores, maintenance, guest
visits, etc.), and what they expect from each other. They will create a
written agreement and signing to adhere to the expectations set forth.
In a perfect world, all of the conditions and concerns put forth by
each person will be respected; however, we are all human, and
mistakes can happen. Should conflict arise from a breach of contract,
the first step is to communicate the issues openly and freely and to
discuss solutions to these problems. The interpersonal intervention

gives a general structure to the way ideas are communicated, the

expectations of each resident, and how to efficiently resolve conflict.

The Intrapersonal Intervention

The interpersonal intervention assists in managing stress of the

group of roommates; however, this is insufficient is managing the
stress of such a drastic change in living situation. In order to most
efficiently manage this stress, an intrapersonal intervention is needed.
The main focus of the intrapersonal intervention is to reduce or
eliminate stress experienced by an individual (not a group of people).
The intrapersonal intervention will occur over time and works based on
the idea that Besse Mazur recommends for handling stress from living
with roommates. Ms. Mazur suggests, not to sweat the small stuff
(Mazur 2012).
Essentially, one roommate should not be hounding the others about
every minor issue that he or she has with them. This only creates
tension between the residents. Rather, one needs to have an
introspective discussion (Lane 2007) . Topics in this discussion should
be thought provoking, and should be given thoughtful insights. An
example of such a topic would be to ask oneself if, for example, one
roommate leaving a dirty towel on the bathroom floor, if that really is

such a bothering habit. Another question one could ask is is

complaining and stressing about this really worth it?
Essentially, the individual is changing the way he or she thinks
about one of these situations. The idea of changing the thought
process of an individual is one of the hallmark dogmas of cognitive
psychology. Dr. Bruce Campbell writes that taming ones thoughts
(controlling how we evaluate and perceive our thoughts) can
significantly reduce stress (Campbell 2013). By not sweating the small
stuff and training oneself not to think of minor issues as horrible
abominations, stress can be reduced in the residency.

Discussion
In order to prove the effectiveness of interpersonal and
intrapersonal interventions, a baseline Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
and a final PSS need to be administered. The baseline PSS will show
the stress that the individual is currently experiencing before moving in
with the new roommates. The final PSS will assess the stress
experienced by the individual at the end of the semester. Should the of
interpersonal and intrapersonal interventions be effective, then, when
quantified:
PSS

initial

PSS

final

In order for the above equality to be satisfied, all stressors not related
to housing should be held constant. Through the use of interpersonal
and intrapersonal interventions, the stress of moving in with a new
roommate can be managed efficiently, easily recorded and measured,
and even possibly eliminated.

Works Cited

Campbell, Bruce (2013). Taming Stressful Thoughts: Making Thoughts

Work For You.
General Format. Retrieved at
<http://www.cfidsselfhelp.org/library/taming-stressful-thoughtsmaking-thoughts-work-for-you>

Lane, JD; Seskevich JE; Pieper CF (JanFeb 2007). "Brief meditation

training can
improve perceived stress and negative mood". Alternative
Therapies in Health
& Medicine 13 (1): 3844.

Mazur, Bessie (2012). How to Handle the Stress of College Life and
Living with
Roommates. General Format. Retrieved at
<http://www.cengagebrain.com/2012/12/how-to-handle-thestress-ofcollege-life-and-living-with-roommates>