Are Childhood Abuse and Neglect Related to Age of First Homelessness Episode Among Currently Homeless Adults?

Abstract

This study investigates 500 homeless adults and the associations between childhood maltreatment types and the age of first reported homelessness episode. Those first experiencing homelessness in youth (age 24 years or younger; 46%) were compared with those first experiencing homelessness at a later age (older than age 24 years). In individual models, physical abuse, emotional abuse, and emotional neglect were associated with first experiencing homelessness during youth (p< .02 for all types of maltreatment). In the simultaneous model, only emotional abuse remained significantly associated (p= .002). In addition, increasing numbers of maltreatment were associated with becoming homeless during youth (p< .0001). These results highlight the unique associations between childhood maltreatment types and becoming homeless earlier in life and support the need for early interventions with at-risk families.