Well-Being without a Roof: Examining Well-Being among Unhoused Individuals Using Mixed Methods and Propensity Score Matching

Naina J Ahuja, Allison Nguyen, Sandra J Winter, Mark Freeman, Robert Shi, Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa and Catherine A Heaney
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Naina J Ahuja: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Allison Nguyen: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Sandra J Winter: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Mark Freeman: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Robert Shi: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Patricia Rodriguez Espinosa: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA
Catherine A Heaney: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: The morbidity and mortality experiences of people who are unhoused have been well-described, but much less is known about the overall well-being of these individuals. In this mixed methods study, housed and unhoused participants completed a multi-faceted 10 domain measure of well-being (the Stanford WELL Survey), and a subset of unhoused participants shared their experiences during qualitative interviews. Using propensity score matching, unhoused participants ( n = 51) were matched at a ratio of 1:5 with housed participants ( n = 255). The mean overall well-being score of the unhoused participants was significantly lower than that of the matched housed participants (B = −5.022, p = 0.013). Additionally, the two groups differed on some of the constituent domains of well-being, with unhoused participants reporting statistically significantly lower mean scores on social connectedness (B = −1.086, p = 0.000), lifestyle and daily practices (B = −1.219, p = 0.000), stress and resilience (B = −0.493, p = 0.023), experience of emotions (B = −0.632, p = 0.009), physical health (B = −0.944, p = 0.0001), and finances (B = −3.099, p = 0.000). The unhoused participants had a statistically significantly higher mean score for spirituality and religiosity (B = 2.401, p = 0.000) than their matched housed counterparts. The qualitative interviews further highlighted spirituality and religion as a coping mechanism for the unhoused. The results of this study highlight both unexpected strengths exhibited by the unhoused individuals and areas of challenge.

Keywords: well-being; unhoused; propensity matching; mixed methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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