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Longitudinal Associations Between Early-Mid Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Young Adult Homelessness in Australia and the United States

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Abstract

Homelessness is associated with a range of negative health and behavioral outcomes, yet life-course pathways to homelessness from adolescence to early adulthood are not well-documented. This study asks to what extent do early-mid adolescent risk and protective factors predict young adult homelessness, and whether the predictive nature of these factors is similar in Victoria, Australia, and Washington State in the USA. As part of the International Youth Development Study, adolescents were recruited as state representative secondary school samples at grade 7 (age 13, 2002) and longitudinally compared at average age 25. Higher rates of past year homelessness were reported by Washington State (5.24%), compared to Victorian young adults (3.25%). Although some cross-state differences in levels of adolescent demographic, individual, family, peer group, school, and community predictors were found, cross-state comparisons showed these factors were equally predictive of young adult homelessness in both states. In univariate analyses, most adolescent risk and protective factors were significant predictors. Unique multivariate adolescent predictors associated with young adult homelessness included school suspension (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.76) and academic failure (AOR = 1.94). No significant unique protective effects were found. Prevention and intervention efforts that support adolescents’ academic engagement may help in addressing young adult homelessness. The similar cross-state profile of adolescent predictors suggests that programs seeking to support academic engagement may influence risk for homelessness into young adulthood in both states. The similarity in life-course pathways to homelessness suggests that the USA and Australia can profitably translate prevention and intervention efforts to reduce homelessness while continuing to identify modifiable predictors.

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Acknowledgments

The authors express their appreciation to project staff and participants.

Funding

This research was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA012140), the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (R01AA017188), and the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; 491241) and the Australian Research Council (DP109574, DPO663371, and DPO877359). Jessica A Heerde is supported by a Research Fellowship from the Westpac Scholars Trust and the University of Melbourne. The content of this paper is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funding agencies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

    Jessica A. Heerde

  2. Social Development Research Group, School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Jennifer A. Bailey & Richard F. Catalano

  3. Centre for Social and Early Emotional Development, School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

    John W. Toumbourou

  4. School of Psychology, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia

    Bosco Rowland

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  1. Jessica A. Heerde
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  2. Jennifer A. Bailey
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Correspondence to Jessica A. Heerde.

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Heerde, J.A., Bailey, J.A., Toumbourou, J.W. et al. Longitudinal Associations Between Early-Mid Adolescent Risk and Protective Factors and Young Adult Homelessness in Australia and the United States. Prev Sci 21, 557–567 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-020-01092-9

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