Washington University in St. Louis.
University of Illinois at Chicago.
J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014 Feb;53(2):199-208. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2013.12.003. Epub 2013 Dec 19.
This longitudinal study tested whether developmental timing of exposure to housing mobility exacerbates behavior problems in an at-risk sample of youth.
Participants were 2,442 youth 4 to 16 years old at risk for child maltreatment followed at 3 time points over a 36-month follow-up. Caregivers reported on youth externalizing behaviors at each assessment. Latent growth models examined the effect of housing mobility on behavior problems after accounting for change in cognitive development, family instability, child gender, ethnicity, family income, and caregiver mental health at baseline.
Findings suggested increased housing mobility predicted greater behavior problems when children were exposed at key developmental periods. Preschoolers exhibited significantly higher rates of behavior problems that remained stable across the 3-year follow-up. Likewise, adolescents exposed to more mobility became relatively more disruptive over time. No effects were found for school-age children. Children who moved frequently during infancy and more recently demonstrated significantly worse behavior over time.
The developmental timing of housing mobility affects child behavioral outcomes. Youth in developmental transition at the time of mobility are at greatest risk for disturbances to residential contexts. Assessing housing history represents an important component of interventions with at-risk families.
本纵向研究检验了住房流动性的发展时机是否会加剧高危儿童虐待风险样本中的行为问题。
研究参与者为 2442 名 4 至 16 岁的青少年，他们在 36 个月的随访中，在 3 个时间点进行了评估。照顾者在每次评估时报告青少年的外化行为。在考虑到基线时认知发展、家庭不稳定、儿童性别、种族、家庭收入和照顾者心理健康的变化后，潜增长模型检验了住房流动性对行为问题的影响。
研究结果表明，当儿童在关键发展时期暴露于住房流动性时，住房流动性增加预示着更高的行为问题。学龄前儿童表现出明显更高的行为问题发生率，并且在 3 年的随访中保持稳定。同样，随着时间的推移，暴露于更多住房流动性的青少年变得相对更具破坏性。对于学龄儿童则没有发现影响。在婴儿期和最近频繁搬家的儿童随着时间的推移表现出明显更差的行为。
住房流动性的发展时机会影响儿童的行为结果。在流动性时期处于发展过渡阶段的青少年面临居住环境干扰的风险最大。评估住房历史是对高危家庭进行干预的重要组成部分。
