Examining the relationships between exposure to homelessness and housing insecurity and perceptions and attitudes toward homelessness among low- and moderate-income people

ABSTRACT

Prior research finds that individuals with greater exposure to homelessness express more favorable attitudes toward people experiencing homelessness. However, it is unclear whether exposure to more broader forms of housing insecurity (e.g. lack of affordability, poor housing quality, being doubled-up) is linked to perceptions of and attitudes toward homelessness. We thus examined the association between both exposure to homelessness and several broader measures of housing insecurity and perceptions and attitudes toward homelessness. We also assessed whether rurality modified these associations. We used Qualtrics Panels to conduct an online survey of 1270 low- and moderate-income adults, equally split between urban and rural areas nationwide in 2018. The survey included questions assessing experiences and opinions about homelessness and housing insecurity. In multiple regression models, we found that exposure to both homelessness and other forms of housing insecurity were associated with an increased degree of perception of homelessness as beyond individual control and an increased propensity for sympathetic interactions with people experiencing homelessness. Rurality did not modify these relationships. As both homelessness and other forms of housing insecurity are on the rise, these findings may portend a shift toward more favorable attitudes and perceptions of homelessness.

KEYWORDS:

• Homelessness
• public opinion
• attitudes
• perception
• housing insecurity

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Jamison D. Fargo for his contribution to the development of the survey on which the study was based.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.

Notes on contributors

Megan Smith

Megan Smith is an Assistant Professor at Rhode Island College School of Social Work.

Thomas Byrne

Thomas Byrne is an Associate Professor at the Boston University School of Social Work and an Investigator with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research and National Center on Homelessness among Veterans.

Ann Elizabeth Montgomery

Ann Elizabeth Montgomery is an Associate Professor at the University of Alabama Birmingham School of Public Health and Investigator at U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Birmingham Alabama Veterans Affairs Medical Center and National Center on Homelessness among Veterans.