Housing trajectories of teen mothers and their families over 28 years

Bibliographic Data

ID9054167
AuthorsLee Smithbattle (0000-0003-1072-0450, UCLouvain Saint-Louis Brussels, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume89
Issue2
Pages258-267
Publication date2019-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Orthopsychiatry (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9432 • E-ISSN: 1939-0025
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/ort0000347
PMID30010361
OpenAlexW2883234355
LanguageEN
Citations received6

Housing has received little attention in the research on teen mothers. A qualitative longitudinal study presented a unique opportunity to examine how teen mothers house their families over time. The study began in 1988 and has followed teen mothers and family members for 7 waves over 28 years. The 7th wave began in 2016. The specific aims of this substudy were to describe the housing trajectories of teen mothers over 28 years and to explore how their housing trajectories were shaped by family resources, housing programs, and discrimination. Data from 9 families were analyzed using interpretive phenomenology. Housing instability was pervasive for Black mothers who were disadvantaged as children. Their stories included many moves, doubling up, sending children to live with others, depression, unreliable partners, and racism. Housing instability was a source of toxic stress, interrupted personal and family goals, undermined family routines, and reflected a legacy of discriminatory housing policies. In contrast, White advantaged mothers were stably housed as children and adults, which reflected longstanding family resources, stable marriages, husbands' steady employment, and tax deductions for homeownership. These stark differences in housing trajectories reflect and reproduce multigenerational social and health inequities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)

Developmental psychology · Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Economics · Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study · Housing First · MEDLINE · Mental health · Mental illness · Political science · Psychiatry · PsycINFO · Qualitative research · Racism · Sociology · Gender Studies · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology · Social Psychology · Work-Family Balance Challenges

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