Deprivation and well-being in squalid living: a propensity score matched cross-sectional study of the English Housing Survey.

BACKGROUND

There is a lack of understanding of people that live in severe domestic squalor (i.e., when their dwelling is grossly unclean/disorganised/unhygienic) and how they might differ from community controls. This study therefore sought to compare people living in squalor in terms of potential differences in deprivation and well-being.

METHODS

Data was extracted from the English Housing Survey. A sample of N = 298 people independently assessed as living in squalor from N = 43,222 household surveys were propensity score matched on seven demographic variables with N = 596 community controls. The two study groups were then compared on measures of deprivation and well-being and these variables were entered into regressions to predict living in squalor.

RESULTS

People living in squalor reside in significantly more deprived areas but are not significantly less satisfied/happy or significantly more anxious/worthless. An increase of 1 level on the deprivation scale decreased risk of living in squalor by 9%.

CONCLUSIONS

Local deprivation appears to play a significant role in living in squalor. This may create 'bi-directional causality' in that local deprivation increases risk of squalor, and living in squalor adds to local deprivation. There needs to be more controlled research regarding squalor, so that targets for intervention (that are malleable) can then be identified, implemented and evaluated.