The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of housing- and neighborhood-related deficits and stress in female heads of single-parent households. The main objectives were to determine: (1) if a correlation existed between the characteristics of the housing and neighborhood occupied by single-parent households and the number of deficits they reported; (2) if a correlation existed between the number of housing and neighborhood deficits and the amount of stress reported; and (3) what specific housing and neighborhood deficits were significantly associated with stress. A proportionate sample was drawn systematically from the 1983 school census data of Roanoke County and the independent city of Roanoke, Virginia. A self administered questionnaire was developed, pretested, and mailed to 1000 mothers of elementary school aged children and 162 usable responses were obtained. The Langner 22-item Index of Mental Illness was used to measure stress. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance, linear regression, and multiple regression with controls for the effect of extraneous variables on stress. Significant differences were found between the number of deficits reported and several characteristics of the respondents’ housing, including the type of dwelling, length of tenancy, method of housing payment, and dwelling satisfaction. A significant positive relationship was also found between the number of housing- and neighborhood-related deficits and the stress level of the respondents. Twelve of the 48 possible housing deficits were significantly related to stress (p < .01). These included inadequate size of rooms, inadequate space for family activities, entertaining, or children’s activities in the kitchen, no separate bedroom for the parent, lack of freedom to make changes in the Interior of the dwelling, inadequate Indoor storage, hard—to clean materials on the floors and in the bathroom, bedrooms not large enough for needed furnishings, no assigned parking space, and lack of privacy for family members. Four of the 21 possible neighborhood deficits were significantly related to stress (p < .01). These included inadequate police surveillance, lack of social acceptance of the single-parent lifestyle, and neighborhoods which were not clean or were not pleasant and attractive looking. / Ph. D.