TY - JOUR
T1 - The Relationship Between Housing Status and Behavioral Health Outcomes Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness With a Foster Care History
AU - Wu, Qi
AU - Lawler, Siobhan M.
AU - Hatch, Elizabeth
AU - Villagrana, Kalah M.
AU - Ferguson, Kristin M.
N1 - Funding Information:
for this study was provided in Los Angeles by the University of Southern California (USC) School of Social Work Hamovitch Research Center, in Denver by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, and in Austin by a faculty development grant from the University of Texas at Austin and the Center for Social Work Research. We would like to acknowledge Connie Chung from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education; Kimberly Biddle and Jina Sang from the USC School of Social Work; Jamie Yoder and Chelsea Komlo from the University of Denver; and Tiffany Ryan, Katherine Montgomery, and Angie Lippman from the University of Texas at Austin for their involvement in this study as research assistants.
Funding Information:
Funding for this study was provided in Los Angeles by the University of Southern California (USC) School of Social Work Hamovitch Research Center, in Denver by the University of Denver Graduate School of Social Work, and in Austin by a faculty development grant from the University of Texas at Austin and the Center for Social Work Research. We would like to acknowledge Connie Chung from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education; Kimberly Biddle and Jina Sang from the USC School of Social Work; Jamie Yoder and Chelsea Komlo from the University of Denver; and Tiffany Ryan, Katherine Montgomery, and Angie Lippman from the University of Texas at Austin for their involvement in this study as research assistants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Society for Social Work and Research. All rights reserved.
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - Objective: Stable housing is vital for improving behavioral health outcomes among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH). However, few studies have focused on YEH with foster care history and the relationship between housing status and behavioral health. This study examined whether housing status (i.e., literally homeless vs. unstably housed) was significantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode, and substance use disorder (SUD). Literal homelessness was defined as living on the street or in a temporary shelter; unstably housed re-ferred to living with parents, family, or foster parents but seeking services at a YEH drop-in center. Method: Data were from YEH ages 14–23 at YEH-serving agencies in three U.S. cities (N = 175): Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; and Austin, TX. We used propensity score weighting to balance the two comparison groups (i.e., literally homeless vs. unsta-bly housed). Results: YEH who were unstably housed were significantly less likely than those who were literally homeless to meet thecriteriaforPTSDbutweremorelikelyto meet SUD criteria. Conclusions: Increased attention should be paid to the behavioral health outcomes of YEH with a foster care history. Social workers should strengthen outreach efforts to provide them with behavioral health services and housing options that are integrated with social support-building and trauma-informed approaches.
AB - Objective: Stable housing is vital for improving behavioral health outcomes among youth experiencing homelessness (YEH). However, few studies have focused on YEH with foster care history and the relationship between housing status and behavioral health. This study examined whether housing status (i.e., literally homeless vs. unstably housed) was significantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive episode, and substance use disorder (SUD). Literal homelessness was defined as living on the street or in a temporary shelter; unstably housed re-ferred to living with parents, family, or foster parents but seeking services at a YEH drop-in center. Method: Data were from YEH ages 14–23 at YEH-serving agencies in three U.S. cities (N = 175): Los Angeles, CA; Denver, CO; and Austin, TX. We used propensity score weighting to balance the two comparison groups (i.e., literally homeless vs. unsta-bly housed). Results: YEH who were unstably housed were significantly less likely than those who were literally homeless to meet thecriteriaforPTSDbutweremorelikelyto meet SUD criteria. Conclusions: Increased attention should be paid to the behavioral health outcomes of YEH with a foster care history. Social workers should strengthen outreach efforts to provide them with behavioral health services and housing options that are integrated with social support-building and trauma-informed approaches.
KW - behavioral health
KW - foster care
KW - housing status
KW - propensity score weighting
KW - youth experiencing homelessness
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U2 - 10.1086/714134
DO - 10.1086/714134
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85165866599
SN - 2334-2315
VL - 14
SP - 269
EP - 290
JO - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
JF - Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research
IS - 2
ER -