Background

The negative consequences of parental substance abuse are significant and longstanding for children. Among other risks, these youth are more likely to experience housing instability. The most common predictor of a child not living with their biological parent is parental substance use. Research shows that these youth are at higher risks of housing instability; however, little is known about their housing experiences, from their perspective. This study explored the housing experiences of youth affected by parental substance abuse.

Participants and setting

Fourteen African American young adults ages 18 to 24 years old who identified having at least one biological parent with a history of substance use participated in this study. The study is based in Baltimore, MD, USA; an urban city with one of the highest rates of drug overdose and substantial disadvantage.

Methods

In-depth interviews were conducted among fourteen young adults (18–24) affected by parental drug use to discuss their housing experiences throughout childhood and adolescence. Five research team members developed a codebook, double coded all transcripts and analyzed inductively using a qualitative content analytic approach.

Results

Three themes emerged to characterize housing experiences: frequent housing transitions, repeated trauma exposures related to housing instability, and the lasting effects of housing instability.

Conclusion

The residual impacts of parental substance use have caused youth to experience the toxic stress and trauma associated with housing instability. It is important that young people have safe, stable and reliable housing to promote child health and normative development.

中文翻译：

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当房子永远不是家时：受父母滥用药物影响的青年住房不稳定

背景

父母滥用药物的负面后果对儿童来说是显着且长期存在的。除其他风险外，这些年轻人更有可能经历住房不稳定。不与亲生父母同住的孩子最常见的预测因素是父母物质的使用。研究表明，这些青年面临更高的住房不稳定风险；然而，从他们的角度来看，人们对他们的住房经历知之甚少。本研究探讨了受父母滥用药物影响的青少年的住房经历。

参与者和设置

十四名年龄在 18 至 24 岁之间的非裔美国年轻人参与了这项研究，他们确定至少有一位亲生父母有吸毒史。该研究位于美国马里兰州巴尔的摩；一个药物过量使用率最高且处于不利地位的城市之一。

方法

对 14 名受父母吸毒影响的年轻人（18-24 岁）进行了深入访谈，以讨论他们在整个童年和青春期的住房经历。五名研究团队成员开发了一个密码本，对所有转录本进行双重编码，并使用定性内容分析方法进行归纳分析。

结果

出现了三个主题来描述住房经历：频繁的住房过渡、与住房不稳定相关的反复创伤暴露以及住房不稳定的持久影响。

结论

父母物质使用的残余影响已导致青少年经历与住房不稳定相关的有毒压力和创伤。年轻人拥有安全、稳定和可靠的住房对于促进儿童健康和规范发展非常重要。