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Developmental Timing of Housing Mobility: Longitudinal Effects on Externalizing Behaviors among At-Risk Youth

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Objective

This longitudinal study tested whether developmental timing of exposure to housing mobility exacerbates behavior problems in an at-risk sample of youth.

Method

Participants were 2,442 youth 4 to 16 years old at risk for child maltreatment followed at 3 time points over a 36-month follow-up. Caregivers reported on youth externalizing behaviors at each assessment. Latent growth models examined the effect of housing mobility on behavior problems after accounting for change in cognitive development, family instability, child gender, ethnicity, family income, and caregiver mental health at baseline.

Results

Findings suggested increased housing mobility predicted greater behavior problems when children were exposed at key developmental periods. Preschoolers exhibited significantly higher rates of behavior problems that remained stable across the 3-year follow-up. Likewise, adolescents exposed to more mobility became relatively more disruptive over time. No effects were found for school-age children. Children who moved frequently during infancy and more recently demonstrated significantly worse behavior over time.

Conclusions

The developmental timing of housing mobility affects child behavioral outcomes. Youth in developmental transition at the time of mobility are at greatest risk for disturbances to residential contexts. Assessing housing history represents an important component of interventions with at-risk families.

Section snippets

Present Study

The present study tested whether developmental timing of exposure to housing mobility exacerbates behavior problems beyond co-occurring changes in cognitive development and sociodemographic risks. Longitudinal data from a national probability sample of families involved in the child welfare system were used given the demonstrated risk for housing mobility in this population.16 Outcomes in the present study included repeated measurements of parent-reported behavior problems over a 3-year

Participants

Data were drawn from the first cohort of the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being, a nationally representative sample of families having come into contact with the child welfare system. The study surveyed families under investigation for child abuse and neglect. Data were collected 12, 18, 36, and 59 to 97 months after the initial assessment. This study included parent and child reports at baseline and 18- and 36-month follow-ups. Data from the 12-month interview were not included

Preliminary Analyses

Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for study variables and their intercorrelations. A similar distribution of recent moves was found in this sample as in prior research; most families reported no moves (70%), whereas 10% reported at least 2 moves within the past 12 months. To examine the validity of the indicator within this sample, associations between early mobility and family and child characteristics were examined. As expected, early mobility related to more enduring risks for housing

Discussion

The study represents one of the first empirical investigations into developmental timing effects of housing mobility on child outcomes over time. Hypotheses predicted that repeated relocation would relate to steeper increases in behavior problems, with larger negative effects for youth in developmental transitions. Findings suggest that frequent moves within the past year predict higher levels of behavior problems in preschoolers and relates to relative increases in externalizing symptoms in

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      Homelessness also delays reunification with parents among children already placed in foster care (Fowler et al., 2013). Charged with the responsibility of protecting children, the child welfare system struggles to address needs for safe and secure accommodations with long-term consequences for mental health and child development (Fowler, Henry, Schoeny, Taylor, & Chavira, 2014; Fowler, McGrath, & Henry, 2015). Little evidence guides the child welfare response to inadequate housing that contributes to risk for out of home placement (Fowler, Taylor, & Rufa, 2011).

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    This article is discussed in and editorial by Dr. Joan P. Gerring on page 138.

    Clinical guidance is available at the end of this article.

    This research was supported by award R03HD066066 (principal investigator, Dr. Fowler) from the Eunice Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of NICHD or the National Institutes of Health.

    Disclosure: Drs. Fowler, Henry, Schoeny, and Taylor and Ms. Chavira report no biomedical financial interests or potential conflicts of interest.

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