Lifestyle Patterns of Children Experiencing Homelessness: Family Socio-Ecological Correlates and Links with Physical and Mental Health

Alexandra Descarpentrie (), Mégane Estevez, Gilles Brabant, Stéphanie Vandentorren and Sandrine Lioret
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Alexandra Descarpentrie: Université Paris Cité, Inserm, INRAE, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), F-75004 Paris, France
Mégane Estevez: Université de Bordeaux, Inserm, UMR1219, PHARes team, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
Gilles Brabant: Santé Publique France, French National Public Health Agency, F-94415 Saint-Maurice, France
Stéphanie Vandentorren: Université de Bordeaux, Inserm, UMR1219, PHARes team, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
Sandrine Lioret: Université Paris Cité, Inserm, INRAE, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and StatisticS (CRESS), F-75004 Paris, France

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-15

Abstract: Diet, screen time, physical activity, and sleep combine into lifestyle patterns with synergistic effects on health. This study aimed to identify lifestyle patterns in children without housing and assess their associations with physical and mental health and family socio-ecological factors. In the 2013 ENFAMS cross-sectional survey (children aged 6–12 experiencing homelessness, Greater Paris area, n = 235), parents reported socio-ecological factors, children’s behaviours, and mental health (the latter was also child-reported). Nurses measured children’s haemoglobin concentrations and body mass index. Principal component analysis was used to derive sex-specific lifestyle patterns. Hierarchical linear regressions and “outcome-wide” analyses assessed, respectively, these patterns’ relations to health and family socio-ecological factors. A rather healthy lifestyle pattern—similarly characterized by diverse diet and high sleep time—was identified, with slight differences by sex. Scores for this pattern were higher for children in food-secure or higher-income households, whose parents were proficient in French, who slept longer, or who received more social support compared to their counterparts, with some nuances by sex. Higher scores for this pattern were associated with higher prosocial behaviour scores (girls) and lower anxiety and hyperactivity–inattention symptoms scores (boys), but not with physical health. For this underserved and understudied population, the results highlight the importance of family socio-ecological factors in shaping the lifestyles and mental health of children.

Keywords: lifestyle patterns; homelessness; children; family; socio-ecological; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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