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Early Life Psychosocial Stressors and Housing Instability among Young Sexual Minority Men: the P18 Cohort Study

Journal of Urban Health volume 93, pages 511–525 (2016)Cite this article

Abstract

Homelessness and housing instability is a significant public health problem among young sexual minority men. While there is a growing body of literature on correlates of homelessness among sexual minority men, there is a lack of literature parsing the different facets of housing instability. The present study examines factors associated with both living and sleeping in unstable housing among n = 600 sexual minority men (ages 18–19). Multivariate models were constructed to examine the extent to which sociodemographic, interpersonal, and behavioral factors as well as adverse childhood experiences explain housing instability. Overall, 13 % of participants reported sleeping in unstable housing and 18 % had lived in unstable housing at some point in the 6 months preceding the assessment. The odds of currently sleeping in unstable housing were greater among those who experienced more frequent lack of basic needs (food, proper hygiene, clothing) during their childhoods. More frequent experiences of childhood physical abuse and a history of arrest were associated with currently living in unstable housing. Current enrollment in school was a protective factor with both living and sleeping in unstable housing. These findings indicate that being unstably housed can be rooted in early life experiences and suggest a point of intervention that may prevent unstable housing among sexual minority men.

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Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, Contract no. R01DA025537.

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Affiliations

  1. Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies, New York University, 726 Broadway, Suite 525, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Kristen D. Krause, Farzana Kapadia, Danielle C. Ompad, Paul A. D’Avanzo, Dustin T. Duncan & Perry N. Halkitis

  2. College of Global Public Health, New York University, 41 E. 11th St., New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Kristen D. Krause, Farzana Kapadia, Danielle C. Ompad, Dustin T. Duncan & Perry N. Halkitis

  3. Center for Drug Use and HIV Research, New York University, 433 First Ave. 7th Floor, New York, NY, 10010, USA

    Farzana Kapadia, Danielle C. Ompad, Dustin T. Duncan & Perry N. Halkitis

  4. Department of Population Health, Langone School of Medicine, New York University, 227 E. 30th St., New York, NY, 10016, USA

    Dustin T. Duncan & Perry N. Halkitis

  5. Department of Applied Psychology, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, New York University, 246 Greene St. 8th Floor, New York, NY, 10003, USA

    Perry N. Halkitis

Authors
  1. Kristen D. Krause
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  2. Farzana Kapadia
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  3. Danielle C. Ompad
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  4. Paul A. D’Avanzo
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  5. Dustin T. Duncan
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  6. Perry N. Halkitis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Perry N. Halkitis.

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Krause, K.D., Kapadia, F., Ompad, D.C. et al. Early Life Psychosocial Stressors and Housing Instability among Young Sexual Minority Men: the P18 Cohort Study. J Urban Health 93, 511–525 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0049-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-016-0049-6

Keywords

  • Sexual minority youth
  • LGBT youth
  • Homeless
  • Housing instability
  • Childhood abuse
  • Sexual debut