Child Psychiatry & Human Development Journal Examines Housing Hardship and Subsequent Behavior Problems Among Children 

By Ella Izenour, NLIHC Opportunity Starts at Home Intern 

The Child Psychiatry & Human Development journal published a recent article, “Housing hardship and child behavior problems from early childhood to adolescence,” exploring how housing hardship affects child behavior problems from early childhood into adolescence. The findings are drawn from a large longitudinal cohort survey of households with children in major U.S. cities. The authors find that housing hardships, including missed rent or mortgage payments, were associated with elevated child behavioral problems like depression, disruptive behaviors, and withdrawal. The article provides an overview of how housing affordability contributes to short- and long-term behavioral patterns and recommends expansion of affordable housing resources to promote child well-being and behavioral health.  

The authors analyzed data from a multi-year qualitative study, the Future of Families (formerly “Fragile Families”) and Child Well-Being Study (FFCW). The FFCW followed a cohort of nearly 5,000 children, born in large U.S. cities between 1998 and 2000, until the study concluded in 2024. Utilizing survey responses and interviews from the FFCW study, the authors compared two types of child behavior problems—internalizing and externalizing—to missed housing payments. Internalizing behaviors refer to anxious, withdrawn, or depressed behaviors. Externalizing behaviors refer to aggressive, disruptive, or defiant behaviors. These behaviors were reported in the study by mothers who took part in yearly interviews about child behavior.   

Based on these data, the authors found that missed rent or mortgage payments were associated with elevated internalizing and externalizing behavior problems among children. Internalizing behaviors were predicted by earlier missed payments or housing hardship, while externalizing behaviors were predicted by concurrent missed payments. The authors highlight how the inability to afford housing impacts children’s behavior problems in nuanced ways across development, identifying the age of five as an important period for the relationship between housing and internalizing behaviors. Missed payments at age 5 were associated with subsequent internalizing behaviors into adolescence. Given that age 5 is when most children in the U.S. start formal schooling, lack of housing stability and consistency in the home environment through the transition to kindergarten may suggest increased behavioral vulnerability for children during this period.   

The authors also identify parenting stress as a strong and consistent predictor of both internalizing and externalizing problems for all ages. Parental reactions to financial strain can trigger disruptive or destructive reactions from children. Elevated levels of parenting stress from financial and housing instability can increase children’s risks for behavioral problems. Further, as children age, they may be more aware of financial struggles within the household and thus more profoundly affected by the stressors their parents face.  

The authors emphasize that without housing stability, children are at greater risk for behavioral problems. The article calls for increased investment in resources like screening for social determinants of health in schools, improvements to existing public housing, housing subsidies, and increased affordable housing supply to identify and ease the burden of housing costs on families with children. By stabilizing housing by age 5, lasting improvements can be made toward the reduction of internalizing behaviors. The article concludes by reiterating the need for affordable housing expansion to support child well-being and behavioral health.  

Read the article here.  

To learn more about the intersections between housing and child well-being, read the OSAH fact sheet here.