Timing of housing crises: Impacts on maternal depression

Abstract

Housing problems threaten maternal mental health, but the nature of the relationship between housing and depression across time is not fully understood. Drawing upon the literatures of household shocks and depressive illness, the present study leveraged longitudinal data from the Fragile Families and Child Well-Being Study to probe the relationship between a housingrelated crisis and depression among at-risk mothers ( = 2,503). Binary logistic regression tested whether a housing crisis predicted an episode of depression across up to one-, three-, and seven-year time lags. The sample was then balanced on key predictors of housing crises using greedy matching with propensity scores; regression models were replicated on the new matched samples. Results showed a housing crisis significantly elevated risk for depression within one year, but effects were attenuated across three and seven years; findings were consistent in the matched samples. Implications include the need to develop new conceptualizations of depression in the context of housing instability. Brief interventions may be most effective for addressing distress associated with housing crises and improving treatment access. Policies and programs addressing the lack of affordable housing in the United States may be effective means of reducing the burden of mental disorder on families with children.

Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: Effects of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Parenting on Teen Depression Symptoms

“…Many studies on teen depression symptoms and maternal depression symptoms have shown teen and maternal socioeconomic characteristics and experiences, such as social support, employment, and housing (Cairney et al, 2003;Fowler et al, 2015;Marcal, 2018), as well as their environmental stressors, including potential ongoing exposure to a violent partner Journal of Interpersonal Violence (Levendosky et al, 2002;Johnson et al, 2014;Sternberg et al, 2006), made differences on the outcome variables. This study applies longitudinal data collected across 15 years and aims to examine the long-term effects of IPV, as well as the temporal sequence of such effects, to explain how IPV experienced by the mother during pregnancy may affect teen depression through maternal depression and parenting.…”

The Impact of Housing Instability on Child Maltreatment: A Causal Investigation

“…Mothers reported whether they had difficulty affording rent, mortgage, or utility payments; had been evicted for nonpayment of rent; had moved in with friends or family members to avoid becoming homeless; or spent time living in a homeless shelter or on the street. Although no standard definition of housing instability exists, similar indicators have been utilized in other studies of vulnerable families to capture a range of housing-related risk (Marcal, 2018; Ma, Gee, & Kushel, 2008; Park et al, 2004).…”

Impacts of COVID-19 on vulnerable children in temporary accommodation in the UK

“…A further consideration is that risks to parental mental health are increased, especially among single mothers, given that housing instability is associated with an increased risk of depression in mothers. 7 Finally, existing vulnerabilities and risk factors for safeguarding are exacerbated by additional factors introduced by the pandemic.…”