Abstract
Poor housing conditions and residential instability have been associated with distress among women; however, this association could be the result of other social factors related to housing, such as intimate partner violence (IPV) and economic hardship. We examined associations of housing conditions and instability with maternal depression and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) while accounting for IPV and economic hardship in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 2,104). In the third study wave, interviewers rated indoor housing quality, including housing deterioration (e.g., peeling paint and holes in floor) and housing disarray (e.g., dark, crowded, and noisy). Mothers reported whether they had moved more than twice in the past two years, an indicator of housing instability. A screening for depression and GAD was obtained from questions derived from the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form in the second and third study waves. IPV and economic hardship were assessed through questionnaire. In this sample, 16% of women were classified as having probable depression and 5% as having probable GAD. In adjusted analyses, mothers experiencing housing disarray (odds ratio [OR], 1.3 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0, 1.7]) and instability (OR, 1.4 [95% CI, 1.2, 2.3]) were more likely to screen positive for depression. In addition, those experiencing housing instability were more likely to screen positive for GAD (OR 1.9 [95% CI, 1.2, 3.0]) even after adjusting for other social factors. No associations were noted between housing deterioration and maternal mental health. Similar associations were noted when incident cases of probable depression and GAD were examined. Housing instability and disarray, but not deterioration, are associated with screening positive for depression and generalized anxiety among women regardless of other social stressors present in their lives. Housing could potentially present a point of intervention to prevent mental health consequences among mothers and possibly their children.
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Abbreviations
- IPV:
-
Intimate partner violence
- GAD:
-
Generalized anxiety disorder
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Acknowledgements
Dr. Suglia was supported by grant number K01HL 103199-01. Dr. Duarte was supported by grant number R21HD056170 from NICHD. Dr. Sandel was supported by grant number 1K23 ES013173-02. The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study was supported by grant number R01HD36916 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The contents of the paper are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Health.
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Suglia, S.F., Duarte, C.S. & Sandel, M.T. Housing Quality, Housing Instability, and Maternal Mental Health. J Urban Health 88, 1105–1116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9587-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11524-011-9587-0