Court-Ordered Busing and Housing Searches

Abstract

Although conceptualized as an important component in a household's relocation behavior, stress/strain relations have been difficult to operationalize. This study uses a quasi-experimental research design to investigate the impact of a stressful event, court-ordered busing, on housing search procedures. Specifically, the context is the occasion in which school-aged children come under a court-ordered busing plan in Jefferson County (Louisville), Kentucky. A survey of a 10% sample of households with school-aged children who were recent movers into an adjacent county, Oldham County, reveals that the impact of the stressful event did induce temporal and spatial constrictions on the housing search procedure. An argument is developed calling for a better understanding of relocation decision making under all kinds of stressful situations.