Doctoral Dissertation Research: Housing Instability, Foreclosures and Family Health

Mary PattilloCarol HeimerElyse Kovalky西北大学房屋止赎一度罕见，在最近的经济低迷期间在美国一些地区变得普遍。之前的研究表明，人们在住房不稳定时期会增加健康问题，但这种负面联系的原因尚不清楚。这篇论文的主要目的是更好地理解止赎和健康之间关系的机制。研究人员将研究加州斯托克顿市家庭住房不稳定的经历，这座城市受到止赎危机的沉重打击。该项目利用了对处于住房拥有不同阶段的家庭的采访和长期观察，包括已经经历过止赎的家庭、面临丧失抵押品赎回权风险的家庭和目前没有丧失抵押品赎回权风险的家庭。丧失抵押品赎回权的过程可能会给家庭的经济状况、居住地和社会关系带来变化。这些变化为一系列与健康相关的影响创造了可能性。还将通过对加利福尼亚州城市的止赎和健康状况的汇总数据进行量化分析，测试确定的潜在机制的显着性。这项研究的重点是那些保持中产阶级生活方式和身份认同与拥有住房的想法密切相关的家庭。这项调查将为研究社会生活各领域的不平等和劣势建立新的理论工具。通过确定将经济和住房不稳定与健康联系起来的中介过程，这项研究可以作为一个框架，思考与其他领域的类似联系。更广泛的影响这项研究的结果不仅对一个家庭失去住房的短期影响，而且对最近的经济危机也有影响。在丧失抵押品赎回权后，家庭可能会继续与被毁的信用和扰乱的生活作斗争。同样，丧失抵押品赎回权的经历与其他与财务困境和经济不稳定相关的生活事件也有相似之处，如驱逐、失业和离婚。这项研究的洞察力可以在其他家庭案例中得到检验吗？经历过社会或经济冲击。这项研究确定的机制可以指导住房和卫生领域的政策。为此，这项研究的一个主要目标是将研究结果转化为更广泛的地方、州和联邦政策制定者，为面临丧失抵押品赎回权、被驱逐或无家可归的家庭设计干预措施。

Mary PattilloCarol HeimerElyse KovalskyNorthwestern University Home foreclosure, once a rare occurrence, became widespread in some parts of the U.S. during the recent economic downturn. Previous research suggests that people have increased health problems during times of housing instability, but the reasons for this negative association are not clear. The primary objective of this dissertation is to better understand the mechanisms that explain the relationship between foreclosure and health. The researchers will study families' experiences of housing instability in Stockton, California, a city hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. The project draws on interviews with and long-term observations of families at different stages of homeownership, including families who have already experienced foreclosure, families at risk of foreclosure, and families not presently at risk of foreclosure. The foreclosure process can bring changes in families' financial situations, in where they live and in their social ties. These changes create the possibilities for a wide range of health-related effects. The salience of potential mechanisms identified will also be tested through quantitative analysis of aggregated data on foreclosure and health from California cities. This study focuses on families whose hold on a middle class lifestyle and identity is tethered closely to the idea of homeownership. The investigation will build new theoretical tools for the study of inequality and disadvantage across domains of social life. By identifying mediating processes linking economic and housing instability to health, the study can serve as a framework for thinking about similar connections to other domains. Broader ImpactsThe results of this research have implications beyond the near-term impacts of a family losing their home, and beyond the recent economic crisis. After foreclosure, families may continue to struggle with ruined credit and disrupted lives. Similarly, the experience of foreclosure has parallels to other life events associated with financial distress and economic precariousness, such as eviction, job loss and divorce. Insights from this study can be tested in these other cases of families? experience of social or economic shocks. The mechanisms identified by this study may guide policy in the areas of housing and health. To this end, a major goal of the study is translating research findings to a broader audience of local, state, and federal policymakers designing interventions for families struggling with foreclosure, eviction or homelessness.