Alcohol Research Group, 6475 Christie Ave., Suite 400, Emeryville, CA, 94608-1010, USA,
J Urban Health. 2014 Feb;91(1):17-32. doi: 10.1007/s11524-013-9813-z.
The 2007-2009 US economic recession was marked by unprecedented rates of housing instability and relatively little is known about how this instability impacted alcohol problems. While previous studies have linked homelessness to increased rates of alcohol use and abuse, housing instability during a recession impacts a much larger segment of the population and usually does not result in homelessness. Using a nationally representative sample of US adults, this study examines the association between housing instability during the recession and alcohol outcomes. Additionally, we assess whether this association is moderated by perceived family support. In multivariate negative binomial regressions, both trouble paying the rent/mortgage (vs. stable housing) and lost (vs. stable) housing were associated with experiencing more negative drinking consequences and alcohol dependence symptoms. However, these associations were moderated by perceived family support. In contrast to those with low perceived family support, participants with high perceived family support reported relatively few alcohol problems, irrespective of housing instability. Furthermore, while job loss was strongly associated with alcohol problems in univariate models, no significant associations between job loss and alcohol outcomes were observed in multivariate models that included indicators of housing instability. Findings point to the importance of the informal safety net and suggest that alcohol screening and abuse prevention efforts should be intensified during periods of recession, particularly among those who experience housing instability.
2007-2009 年美国经济衰退的特点是住房不稳定率空前，而对于这种不稳定如何影响酒精问题，人们知之甚少。虽然先前的研究已经将无家可归与更高的酒精使用和滥用率联系起来，但经济衰退期间的住房不稳定影响的是人口中更大的一部分，而且通常不会导致无家可归。本研究使用美国成年人的全国代表性样本，考察了经济衰退期间住房不稳定与酒精问题之间的关联。此外，我们评估了这种关联是否受到感知家庭支持的调节。在多元负二项式回归中，付房租/抵押贷款有困难（与稳定住房相比）和住房丧失（与稳定住房相比）都与经历更多负面饮酒后果和酒精依赖症状有关。然而，这些关联受到感知家庭支持的调节。与感知家庭支持程度低的人相比，感知家庭支持程度高的参与者无论住房是否稳定，报告的酒精问题相对较少。此外，虽然失业在单变量模型中与酒精问题密切相关，但在包括住房不稳定指标的多变量模型中，失业与酒精结果之间没有观察到显著关联。研究结果表明非正式安全网的重要性，并表明在经济衰退期间，应加强对酒精筛查和滥用预防工作的重视，特别是针对那些经历住房不稳定的人。
