Peer-reviewed article
Poor Nurturing Care as a Risk Factor for Homelessness: Evidence from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health
Diana Margot Rosenthal, Sarah de Godoy, Kate Guastaferro ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study used data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (15,197 participants) to see whether poor nurturing care in childhood is linked to ever being homeless. It looked at five parts of the Nurturing Care Framework and adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics. Being thrown out by a caregiver, neglect, being left home alone and receiving food stamps were each linked to higher odds of homelessness. Having health insurance was linked to lower odds. The authors conclude that all five framework components are associated with homelessness and are targets for prevention.
Key points
- Being thrown out by a caregiver was the strongest association, with over six times the odds of experiencing homelessness.
- Experiencing child neglect nearly doubled the odds of homelessness.
- Being left home alone by 6th grade was linked to 42% higher odds.
- Failing to follow instructions or finish tasks early in childhood was linked to 77% higher odds.
- Needing but not getting medical care was linked to 52% higher odds, while having insurance lowered the odds by 33%.
Limitations
This is a secondary analysis of self-reported data that shows associations, not proof that poor nurturing care causes homelessness. Only the abstract was available, so details on measures, effect sizes for all components and confounders are not known.
Abstract
Purpose: Each year, over one million children in the United States experience homelessness. Homelessness can occur at any stage in life in the absence of adequate prevention or intervention measures. The Nurturing Care Framework (NCF) offers an evidence-based model to help understand the significant threats to childhood development. Our objective was to determine whether the five NCF components predict ever experiencing homelessness in one’s lifetime. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health in-home interviews with adolescents at Waves I and III (N = 15,197). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to test associations between self-reported experiences of homelessness and the NCF components, adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics. Results: Being thrown out by a caregiver had the strongest association, with over six times the odds of experiencing homelessness (p≤ .001). Experiencing child neglect nearly doubled the odds (p≤ .001), and those left home alone by 6th grade had 42% higher odds (p< .05). Failing to follow instructions or finish tasks early in childhood increased homelessness odds by 77% (p≤ .001). Receiving food stamps more than doubled the odds (p≤ .01). Needing but not getting medical care had 52% higher odds, while having insurance lowered odds by 33% (p≤ .01). Discussion: Findings demonstrate that all NCF components are associated with experiencing homelessness, and adversities can increase the odds of homelessness during the life course. This study highlights that these components are key targets for prevention efforts.