The Impact of Housing Stressors on the Mental Health of a Low-Income African-American Population (original) (raw)

Urban Low-Cost Housing Effect Mental Health

PLANNING MALAYSIA, 2021

As the number of people moving to urban areas increases by the year, it also increases the prevalence of mental health problems worldwide. Low-income groups in urban areas have had to choose to live in low-cost housing due to the higher cost of living. This study aims to understand the effect of living in lowcost housing. The objectives are to study and analyse mental health conditions for the low-income group living in low-cost housing in an urban area. This study was conducted at the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The questionnaire used is an adaptation of the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the sample selection used homogenous sampling. The site selection is based on the housing scheme's characteristics: location, density, property age, and surrounding land use. The data collected were analysed using correlation analysis to determine the relationship between urban low-cost housing living and mental health. The results have shown that 57.8 pe...

Housing Quality, Housing Instability, and Maternal Mental Health

Journal of Urban Health, 2011

Poor housing conditions and residential instability have been associated with distress among women; however, this association could be the result of other social factors related to housing, such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic hardship. We examined associations of housing conditions and instability with maternal depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) while accounting for IPVand economic hardship in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N=2,104). In the third study wave, interviewers rated indoor housing quality, including housing deterioration (e.g., peeling paint and holes in floor) and housing disarray (e.g., dark, crowded, and noisy). Mothers reported whether they had moved more than twice in the past two years, an indicator of housing instability. A screening for depression and GAD was obtained from questions derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form in the second and third study waves. IPV and economic hardship were assessed through questionnaire. In this sample, 16% of women were classified as having probable depression and 5% as having probable GAD. In adjusted analyses, mothers experiencing housing disarray (odds ratio [OR], 1.3 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0, 1.7]) and instability (OR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.2, 2.3]) were more likely to screen positive for depression. In addition, those experiencing housing instability were more likely to screen positive for GAD (OR 1.9 [95% CI, 1.2, 3.0]) even after adjusting for other social factors. No associations were noted between housing deterioration and maternal mental health. Similar associations were noted when incident cases of probable depression and GAD were examined. Housing instability and disarray, but not deterioration, are associated with screening positive for depression and generalized anxiety among women regardless of other social stressors present in their lives. Housing could potentially present a point of intervention to prevent mental health consequences among mothers and possibly their children.

Housing and Mental Health: A Review of the Evidence and a Methodological and Conceptual Critique

Journal of Social Issues, 2003

Despite the fact that people invest more financial, temporal, and psychological resources in their homes than in any other material entity, research on housing and mental health is remarkably underdeveloped. We critically review existing research on housing and mental health, considering housing type (e.g., singlefamily detached versus multiple dwelling), floor level, and housing quality (e.g., structural damage). We then discuss methodological and conceptual shortcomings of this literature and provide a theoretical framework for future research on housing quality and mental health.

A profile of chronic mental and physical conditions among African-American and Latino children in urban public housing

Ethnicity & disease, 2005

This study provides a profile of chronic mental and physical conditions among African-American and Latino children in urban public housing communities in Los Angeles, California. The study focused on 187 African-American and Latino households with children, 65% of a random sample of 287 households in three urban public housing communities. The findings suggest that minority children residing in public housing are one of the more severely health-compromised groups among under-served communities. Children of Latino and African-American families in our sample are two to four times more likely to suffer from chronic physical and mental conditions than the general population. The top five childhood chronic conditions reported by parents for one or more children in their households were asthma (32%), eye/vision problems (24%), dental problems (16%), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (17%), and depression (8%). This study documents significant health disparities in this population a...

Housing Insecurity and the Association With Health Outcomes and Unhealthy Behaviors, Washington State, 2011

Preventing Chronic Disease, 2015

Few studies of associations between housing and health have focused on housing insecurity and health risk behaviors and outcomes. We measured the association between housing insecurity and selected health risk behaviors and outcomes, adjusted for socioeconomic measures, among 8,415 respondents to the 2011 Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Housing insecure respondents were about twice as likely as those who were not housing insecure to report poor or fair health status or delay doctor visits because of costs. This analysis supports a call to action among public health practitioners who address disparities to focus on social determinants of health risk behaviors and outcomes. Objective In 2012, an estimated 41 million US households paid more than 30% of their pre-tax income for housing (1). High housing costs make it difficult to afford other necessities, including food, transportation, and medical care. Housing affordability is associated with housing insecurity or stress related to affording rent or mortgage (2,3). Studies have reported associations between housing insecurity and mental health problems or avoiding medical care, but questions remain about the association with health risk behaviors and outcomes (4-6). This study characterizes adults who report housing insecurity and the relationship of housing insecurity to selected unhealthy behaviors and outcomes.

Household Disrepair and the Mental Health of Low-Income Urban Women

Journal of Urban Health-bulletin of The New York Academy of Medicine, 2011

We employ longitudinal survey data from the Welfare, Children, and Families project (1999, 2001) to examine the effects of household disrepair (e.g., living with leaky structures, busted plumbing, broken windows, and pests) on psychological distress among low-income urban women with children. Building on previous research, we adjust for related housing concepts, neighborhood disorder, financial hardship, and a host of relevant background factors. We also formally test the mediating influences of social support and self-esteem. Our cross-sectional analysis indicated that household disrepair is positively associated with recent symptoms of psychological distress. Our longitudinal change score analysis demonstrates two important patterns. First, women living with household disrepair at baseline are not necessarily vulnerable to increases in symptoms of psychological distress over the 2-year study period. Second, women who report an increase in disrepair over the study period are also likely to report a concurrent increase in symptoms of distress. Although social support and self-esteem favor mental health in our cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses, these psychosocial resources fail to mediate or explain the association between disrepair and distress.

Affording Housing at the Expense of Health: Exploring the Housing and Neighborhood Strategies of Poor Families

Journal of Family Issues, 2014

Low-income families often simultaneously encounter housing and neighborhood problems pertaining to safety, affordability, and quality issues that necessitate strategies to maximize limited budgets and ensure safety. Such constrained decisions regarding inadequate housing and poor neighborhood conditions, however, may themselves create or exacerbate health risks. Building on the survival strategies literature, this article offers rich and detailed accounts of coping and management strategies on the part of vulnerable families facing housing and neighborhood hardships. The findings are based on in-depth interviews with 72 respondents and ethnographic observations in an urban community. The results illustrate how low-income women avoid neighborhood danger by relegating family life to the home environment, thereby increasing exposure to health risks such as stress, depression, and asthma. The discussion focuses on public health literature linking housing and health and proposes the use of legal strategies and community engagement as resources to complement current approaches to housing and neighborhood problems.