Identifying Risks for Homelessness and School Disengagement: Associations with Student Strengths and Needs

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Prevention and Interventions

Abstract

Introduction. Youth homelessness is a significant problem that affects millions of young people each year (Morton et al., 2017). Low educational attainment is the largest risk factor for youth homelessness, and lack of a high school or college degree can prevent sustainable exits from homelessness (Kull et al., 2019). Given these concerns, we piloted the Upstream Project (TUP) in a moderately-sized midwestern community to promote students’ housing stability and school completion. TUP involves administering a universal screener to triage middle and high school students at risk for homelessness and school disengagement. TUP then connects youth to supports before they reach crisis. No research has comprehensively explored connections between risks for homelessness, school disengagement, and well-being in a population of students in one school district participating in this type of school-based prevention program. For this analysis, we investigated 1) the prevalence of the student population reporting risks for homelessness and school disengagement and 2) the associations between these risks and measures of student well-being.

Method. Students completed the universal screening survey online at school in November 2019. Of the 3,166 students in grades 7-12, 2,401 (76%) responded to the survey (completion rate of 61%). Screener items measured current homelessness (2 items), risk for homelessness (19 items), and risk for school disengagement (12 items). For this analysis, we examined the prevalence of risks (combining current and risk for homelessness) and the association between risks and well-being. Mental health was measured using the Kessler-6; resilience and social connections were assessed using the YouthThrive scales. We conducted a logistic regression to predict mental health symptoms and OLS regressions to predict resilience and social connections. We included age, race/ethnicity, gender, and LGBQT+ status as the covariates for analyses.

Results. Our analysis of student responses revealed that 5% of students were currently homeless, 24% reported moderate-high risk for homelessness, and 15% were at moderate-high risk for school disengagement. Eight percent of students were at risk for both homelessness and school disengagement. Youth reporting risks for homelessness and school disengagement experienced heightened mental health symptoms. Additionally, youth facing risks of homelessness and school disengagement reported lower levels of resilience and fewer social connectedness. Results indicated that risks for homelessness and school dropout functioned additively to predict measures of youth well-being, raising concerns for youth facing both sets of risks.

Discussion. These findings underscore the utility of a screening instrument that can help school systems to triage students at risk for homelessness and school disengagement before they reach a crisis. Given the associations between housing instability and educational attainment, it is vital that communities implement new interventions to strengthen partnerships between school systems and local service providers, such as TUP. Additional analyses will examine disparities in risks for homelessness and school disengagement by race/ethnicity, gender identity, and sexual orientation and explore variation with well-being among the student body. It is essential that prevention programs connect youth facing marginalization in their schools or their homes to critical supports in a timely fashion.

Authors

• Melissa Kull, Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Erin Carreon, Chapin Hall
  Non-Presenting Author

• Simeon Daferede, Chapin Hall
  Non-Presenting Author

• Matthew Morton, Chapin Hall
  Non-Presenting Author