Heterogeneous Effects of Housing Vouchers on the Mental Health of US Adolescents
OBJECTIVES:
To
assess the mental health effects on adolescents of low-income families residing
in high-poverty public housing who received housing vouchers to assist
relocation.
METHODS:
We
defined treatment effects to compare 2829 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in
families offered housing vouchers versus those living in public housing in the
Moving to Opportunity experiment (1994-1997; Boston, MA; Baltimore, MD;
Chicago, IL; Los Angeles, CA; New York, NY). We employed model-based recursive
partitioning to identify subgroups with heterogeneous treatment effects on
psychological distress and behavior problems measured in 2002. We tested 35 potential
baseline treatment modifiers.
RESULTS:
For
psychological distress, Chicago participants experienced null treatment
effects. Outside Chicago, boys experienced detrimental effects, whereas girls
experienced beneficial effects. Behavior problems effects
were null for adolescents who were aged 10 years or younger at baseline. For adolescents
who were older than 10 years at baseline, violent crime victimization, unmarried
parents, and unsafe neighborhoods increased adverse treatment effects. Adolescents
who were older than 10 years at baseline without learning problems or violent crime victimization, and whose parents moved
for better schools, experienced beneficial effects.
CONCLUSIONS:
Health
effects of housing vouchers varied across subgroups. Supplemental services may be
necessary for vulnerable subgroups for whom housing vouchers alone may not be beneficial
- 1Quynh C. Nguyen is with the Department of Health Promotion and Education, College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. David H. Rehkopf is with the Division of General Medical Disciplines, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA. Theresa L. Osypuk and Nicole M. Schmidt are with the Minnesota Population Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Theresa L. Osypuk is also with the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis.
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