Mental Health Consequences of Low-Income Housing Niches Susan SaegertGary Evans CUNY Grad CenterCornell University

Home as Anchor in Social/Physical Ecology Home Neighborhood Local Housing Market/policy Home Local City/State Nation in Global Political Economy

Housing Niche Macro processes create and distribute housing opportunities, costs, entrance requirements, quality, ownership options. Local area defines housing market, connects place to global/ national economy and population flows Operation of housing market (discrimination, volatility, direction) and housing policy direct households to housing units Location, quality, cost, and access to amenities/education/jobs affect health, human development, and asset accumulation Housing niche affects intergenerational acquisition and transmission of forms of capital (economic, social, cultural, health, political)

Research Questions: To what extent do poverty and racism lead to residence in environments that expose people to higher levels of environmental stressors and cumulative risks? To what extent do those exposures mediate health outcomes? What multi-level social processes offset or magnify the negative consequences of exposure to environmental stressors and risks? How is access to housing environments mediated by the forms of capital of poor people and by public policies?

Ecology of Housing and Health Social capital Property Other Assets Ethnicity Education Job G1 Housing Market Segregation Ownership options Housing Policy Social Networks Social & Eco. Assets Costs Hazards Stressors HOME G1&G2 Opportunities Networks Racism Community capacity G1 & G2 Health Parenting Support G2 Assets G2 Education Social capital Property Other Assets Ethnicity Education Job HOME G2 Housing Market Segregation Ownership options Housing Policy Social Networks

Two Studies: Housing and Stress among Low-income Parents and Children in New York City and Upstate NY Housing Quality Economic Strain Exposure to Violence Parent’s Mental Health Child’s Mental Health Parenting: Harsh vs. Supportive Parent’s Social Capital (NYC Only)

Measures NYC Public Housing Exposure to Stressors: – Economic strain (maternal reports of being unable to pay bills and meet basic family needs like food and clothing each month etc.) (α=.80; M =22.49; SD=5.18) – Social capital (mothers’ participation in voluntary organizations and civic activities, informal socializing and relationships of mutual assistance) ( α=77.72; M=73.5; SD=13.65 ). –Exposure to community violence (Richters & Martinez,1993) (α=.86, M=51.09, SD=7.91) Harsh Parenting : (Conger et al., 1994; Hashima and Amato, 1994), further described in Krenichyn et al(2001) (α=.61, M=23.07, SD=3.50). Psychological Distress : – Maternal psychological distress: Psychiatric Epidemiological Research Instrument ( Dohrenwend, Shrout, Egri & Mendelsohn, 1980) (α=.83;M=27.18; SD=5.87). – Children’s psychological distress: Levon scale (Martinez & Richters, 1993) (α=.86, M=51.09, SD=7.91) Children’s Cardiovascular Activation : - Diastolic blood pressure (M=60.74, SD=7.54), - Systolic blood pressure (M=103.27, SD=11.12), - Heart rate (M=86.49 bpm, SD=10.61).

Measures Rural Upstate New York Exposure to Stressors: - Economic strain Conger & Elder, 1994; Work et al, 1990 LEC (  =.73, M=.32, SD=.65) - Exposure to Violence Work et al, 1990 LEC (  =.60, M=.22, SD= Housing Quality Evans rating scale (  =.78, M=.77, SD=.28). Psychological Distress : - Parental Psychological Distress PERI (  =.91, M=33.92, SD=16.35). - Children’s Psychological Distress Rutter et al, 1970(  =.83, M=11.73, SD=7.00) Children’s Cardiovascular Activation : - Diastolic blood pressure (M=60.85, SD=8.58), - Systolic blood pressure (M=102.31, SD=8.95) - Heart rate (M=82.43, SD=8.73)

Samples New York Public Housing –$1021 per mo. median income –19 girls, 21 boys –66% Black 34% Hispanic –68% single parents –Grades 3-5 Upstate Rural New York –$1030 per mo. median income –56 girls, 55 boys –94% white –38% single parents –Grades 3-5

Results NYC Public Housing Parents Economic Strain + Psychological Distress + Harsher Parenting; Social Capital -Psychological Distress Children Exposure to Violence + Psychological Distress - Diastolic Blood Pressure - Heart Rate Harsh Parenting -Heart rate Violence X Parenting Harsher+ more violence → lower DBP

Results Rural Upstate NY Parents Poor Housing Quality + Psychological Distress + Harsher Parenting; Exposure to Violence -Psychological Distress Children Exposure to Violence + Psychological Distress + Heart Rate Poor Housing Quality +Psych. Distress +Systolic BP Parental Psych. Distress + Psych. Distress Effects of Violence and Poor Housing Quality Mediated by Parental Distress

Conclusions Poverty Housing Niches Related to -Presence of significant stressors for many -Parents and Children respond with distress -Parental responses affect children’s stress levels Differences –Level of stressors differ by niche –What is stressful differs by niche and population –Violence can tip from stressful to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome

Further Research Compare across wide range of populations and places (SES, race and ethnicity, immigration status, regions) and over time Multi-measures, Nested models, Cumulative, Mediated and Moderated Effects Look over time at how populations are sorted into housing niches and how living there effects Stress among parents and children Family dynamics and their effects on stress Accumulation of human and social capital for parents and children Likelihood of living in same, better or worse housing niches in future