Housing insecurity among children of incarcerated parents in the United States

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between parental incarceration and housing insecurity among a recent, nationally representative sample of children in the US.

STUDY DESIGN: Data from the 2024 National Survey of Children's Health, a nationally representative survey of noninstitutionalized US children aged 0-17 years, were examined. Weighted multinomial and logistic regression models were estimated to examine associations between parental incarceration and several indicators of housing insecurity (eg, frequent moves, homelessness, caregiver eviction stress, missed housing payments), adjusting for various child, caregiver, household, and neighborhood characteristics.

RESULTS: Findings revealed substantial disparities in housing insecurity among children exposed to parental incarceration. Children with incarcerated parents disproportionately resided in households experiencing housing insecurity relative to peers, including higher rates of missed housing payments (31.66% vs 13.68%), caregiver eviction stress (22.30% vs 8.85%), lifetime childhood homelessness (17.44% vs 1.95%), and lifetime moves (41.81% vs 10.77% reporting four or more moves). These associations were robust to multiple confounders.

CONCLUSIONS: Addressing housing insecurity among children with incarcerated parents represents an important opportunity to reduce pediatric health inequities. Future research should prioritize efforts to characterize further this relationship, implement and test screenings in clinical settings, foster community partnerships, and support policies that reduce inequities in housing insecurity and parental incarceration for these children.