Collaborative Research: Extended Family Support and Housing Stability of Youth Over Time

家庭排斥是青少年无家可归的一个众所周知的原因。该项目将为期一年的研究扩展到为期两年的研究，以了解在青年最终进入避难所或流落街头之前，大家庭成员的支持如何随着时间的推移形成住房稳定和安全的途径。这项纵向研究记录了祖父母、阿姨、叔叔、堂兄弟姐妹和成年兄弟姐妹在为那些父母对孩子的身份和行为不支持或矛盾的年轻人提供长期住所和住房稳定方面的作用和做法。这项研究的创新之处在于，它关注的是那些在家里面临挑战但还没有无家可归的年轻人，并对这些年轻人进行了两年的跟踪调查，直到他们转变为即将成年的人。这项研究推进了家庭社会支持和无家可归的科学研究。研究人员从研究结果中吸取教训，参与到青少年庇护所和项目的推广中，并向从业者和决策者提供预防青少年无家可归的策略。为了了解非父母亲属的作用以及他们的支持如何影响青年的住房稳定性和安全性，该项目将对83名有无家可归风险的青年（最初年龄为16-19岁）进行的为期一年的研究扩展为为期两年的混合方法纵向研究。参与者从美国西南部的两个州招募，包括农村社区的青年和少数群体。原始数据通过初次访谈、12个月调查和随访访谈收集。这项研究增加了另外12个月的调查和另一个随访访谈，包括住房不稳定和家庭支持的生活史。研究人员评估了随着时间的推移，年轻人从大家庭获得的工具和情感支持的形式和一致性如何影响他们的安全感和住房稳定性。纵向方法可以分析家庭支持、住房稳定和安全如何随着时间的推移而变化，并随着青年过渡到新兴的成年人。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Family rejection is a well-known cause of youth homelessness. This project extends a 1-yearlong study in to a 2-yearlong study to understand how support from extended family members over time shapes pathways of housing stability and safety before youth end up at shelters or on the streets. The longitudinal study documents the roles and practices of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and adult siblings in providing long-term shelter and housing stability for youth whose parents are unsupportive or ambivalent about their children’s identities and behaviors. The research is innovative in its focus on youth who are experiencing challenges at home but are not yet homeless and in following the youth for 2 years as they transition into emerging adults. The study advances the science on familial social support and homelessness. Researchers draw from the study’s findings to engage in outreach to youth shelters and programs and inform practitioners and decision-makers on strategies to prevent youth homelessness.To understand the role of non-parental relatives and how their support shapes the housing stability and safety of youth, this project extends a 1-yearlong study of 83 youth (originally aged 16-19) who are at risk of homelessness into a 2-year mixed-methods longitudinal study. Participants were recruited from two states in the southwest United States, including youth in rural communities and from minority groups. Original data were collected through an initial interview, 12 monthly surveys, and a follow-up interview. This study adds an additional 12 monthly surveys and another follow-up interview, including a life history of housing instability and family support. Researchers evaluate how the forms and consistency of instrumental and emotional support that youth receive from extended family over time influence their sense of safety and housing stability. A longitudinal approach enables analysis of how family support and housing stability and safety shift over time and as the youth transition into emerging adults.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.