Homeless children: are they different from other low-income children?

This study examines the differences in academic performance, adaptive functioning, and problem behaviors of 145 elementary school-age children who had experienced homelessness and a matched group of 142 mobile children with low socioeconomic status (SES). The Achenbach and Edelbrock Teacher Report Form and the Harter Self-Perception Profile for Children were used. Within groups, children displayed a range of academic and psychological functioning; about 30 percent performed in the normal range. Comparisons revealed no significant differences between homeless and low SES-mobile children. However, the children's scores taken together differed substantially from norms. These findings suggest that although homelessness is a stressful event in children's lives, long-term poverty may be a more appropriate marker of risk in children. Further, the findings imply that interventions must presume a substantial diversity of need within the various populations. A model of the dynamic of poverty, mobility, and lack of social supports is presented. Implications for intervention by schools and community agencies are discussed.