Insecure Housing in Childhood Associated With Worse Health Outcomes in Adolescence: Study

A longitudinal study, “Trajectories of Housing Insecurity from Infancy to Adolescence and Adolescent Health Outcomes,” found that adolescents who experienced periods without stable, affordable, and safe housing in childhood reported worse overall health and more anxiety and depressive symptoms than those who grew up with secure housing. The study, published in the August 2024 Pediatrics (published online July 1), used data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study to create a composite measure of housing insecurity using five indicators, such as skipping a rent or mortgage payment or eviction. Using this measure, researchers identified three distinct trajectories of housing insecurity experienced from ages 1 to 15: no insecurity (“secure”); intermittent-moderate insecurity (“moderately insecure”); and high insecurity in early childhood (“highly insecure”). About 47% (2,230) of the 4,714 participants were classified into the secure group, 46% (2,188) into the moderately insecure group, and 6.3% (296) of children were classified into the highly insecure group. At age 15, adolescents who experienced secure housing in childhood reported better overall health, and less anxiety and depressive symptoms as compared to those who experienced insecure housing. The authors note that the findings contribute knowledge about patterns of housing insecurity from infancy to adolescence and their associations with adolescent health. They suggest the need for novel screening efforts to identify housing insecurity in families with young children when it emerges, as well as additional resources and policies to prevent housing insecurity and its associated health outcomes.

###

The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.