Using Youth Risk Behavior Survey data to analyze housing instability among Delaware public school students

ABSTRACT

This study provides information about the prevalence, living conditions, and demographic characteristics of housing instability among students in the state of Delaware. Data were obtained from the Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) for the 2011–2017 academic years and included 23,819 youth respondents in grades 6–12. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted to characterize student demographics. Results show that 3.6% (about one out of 30) of Delaware students, grades 6–12, experience housing instability, and this rate was consistent across urban and rural areas. Findings also reveal that males and students of color were more likely to experience housing instability. Results obtained are utilized to understand the prevalence of housing instability and to inform schools, communities, and policy makers of ways to support and strengthen services and programming for students’ academic needs and well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Housing instability
• McKinney-Vento
• public schools
• youth development
• youth risk Behavior survey (YRBS)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on contributors

Ann M. Aviles, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Delaware. Dr. Aviles’s research engagements include examining policies, services, and programs that impact the educational opportunities, material realities, and mental health of youth of color experiencing homelessness/instability; Latina/o education; education policy; education equity; critical/justice-based teacher preparation; school-community partnerships; participatory action research; Critical Race Theory (CRT); Latina/o Critical Theory (LatCrit); and positive youth/community development.

Kathleen McCallops, MS, is a doctoral student in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Delaware. Ms. McCallops’s research focuses on the educational opportunities and mental health of youth and families experiencing housing instability and food insecurity.

Maryam Hussain, PhD, is currently a postdoctoral fellow in health psychology at the University of California, Merced. Dr. Hussain’s research broadly focuses on the psychosocial determinants of health in underserved populations; specifically, she looks at how ongoing and daily experiences of cultural resiliency and adversity predict cardiometabolic disease risk over time.

James Highberger, MPA, is a research associate at the Center for Drug and Health Studies and the acting data manager for the Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, Delaware School Surveys, and Youth Tobacco Surveys. He received his Master's in Public Administration from the University of Colorado and is currently working toward his PhD in Criminology. He focuses his work on adolescent substance use and prevention and also has a passion for geographic information systems, mapping out how resources and substance use rates vary throughout the state of Delaware to better direct prevention efforts.

Rachel Ryding, MA, is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware, where she works with the Center for Drug and Health Studies on the Delaware School Survey projects. Her research interests are focused on substance use, mental health, and research methods.

Sharon Merriman-Nai, MC, is a researcher, evaluator, and project director at the Center for Drug and Health Studies at the University of Delaware. From 2015 to 2019, she led the Center's school-based survey efforts, including the Delaware Youth Risk Behavior Survey, and conducts evaluation for Center projects designed to promote prevention of suicide, substance use, and other mental health challenges. Previously, Ms. Merriman-Nai served as a community mental health counselor and consultant, working with adults and children who had experienced childhood trauma and adversities.

Henry May, PhD, is Director of the Center for Research in Education and Social Policy (CRESP) and an associate professor in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. Dr. May specializes in the application of modern statistical methods and mixed-methods in randomized experiments and quasi-experiments studying the implementation and impacts of educational and social interventions and policies.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 In this paper, the authors will use the term housing instability whenever possible to provide a broader understanding of temporary housing and to expand upon the traditional perspective regarding homelessness (often used in relation to persons who reside in a shelter, abandoned building, car, etc.) by including temporary housing situations such as staying with friends or relatives, couch surfing, or moving frequently.

2 National Consortium on Homelessness and the YRBS Meeting, personal communication, September 13, 2019.

3 Our definition of New Castle County (NCC) as urban is based on the large portion of urbanized area in NCC, according to the map and definition provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. The density portion of the census definition of “Urban” requires a population density of 1,000 people per square mile. New Castle meets that standard with a density of 1,555 per square mile. Kent County is described as urban/rural because it has only one major metropolitan area (Dover), and the rest is largely rural. Sussex is defined as rural because according to the map, the majority of its areas are considered rural by the Census Bureau, and according to census.gov it has a population density of only 210 people per square mile.

4 The authors performed a logistic regression to test for differences in rates of homelessness across years in the sample. The results showed there were no differences in the rates of homelessness by year (X2(3) = .672, p = .880).

5 Data from 2017 could not be included here due to changes in the item response options that year. Specifically, the question included in the 2017 survey did not allow for a distinction between parent presence or absence.

6 Pushout refers to practices that contribute to students leaving school. These include unwelcoming and uncaring school environments and overreliance on zero tolerance school policies.