A Typology of Family Housing Insecurity: Impacts of Caregiver Depression and Substance Use

Housing insecurity is endemic among low-income families. Caregiver mental health is an important factor for predicting family housing risk, but less is known about how it impacts subtypes of housing insecurity. The present study investigates two research questions for a sample of families with adolescent children: (1) Do distinct subtypes of housing insecurity exist based on affordability and instability? (2) Does caregiver depression or substance misuse predict housing insecurity subtypes? Data came from a large sample of low-income families ( N = 2955). Missing data were handled using multiple imputation with chained equations. Latent class analysis estimated housing subtypes and longitudinal predictors of class membership using mixture modeling. Results showed a three-class solution that suggested a continuum of risk was the best fit to the data. The majority of families (“Low Housing Risk” class; 82.9%) experienced low levels of housing insecurity, whereas one in six families “Cost-Burdened but Housed,” (14.5%) reported difficulty affording rent but maintained housing. The smallest, highest-risk class (“Housing Insecure,” 2.7%) reported recent doubling up, evictions, and/or homelessness. Caregiver substance use quadrupled the likelihood that families would fall into the smallest (“Housing Insecure”) class. Policies limiting access to housing assistance for households with a history of drug convictions may perpetuate ongoing risk for housing instability.