Stress on the Streets: Type of Stress Matters Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness

Background: Young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) have elevated stress. Contending with immediate needs, physical safety, relationships, and future life direction are daily features of stressors from the streets. Research has yet to examine whether different subgroups of YAEH experience different types of stress. And, it is unclear whether all types of stress contribute equally to stress responses, such as coping with drug use. This study used a national sample of YAEH to examine four specific types of stress, explore the correlates of each type, and examine their relation to marijuana use. The study answers two research questions 1) Do demographic characteristics differentially predict types of stress? and 2) Does the type of stress experienced impact the likelihood of marijuana use?

Methods: Data for this study come from the Homeless Youth Risk and Resilience Survey (N=1426) administered in seven U.S. Cities from 2015-2017. Stress was measured using the Stress on the Streets Scale (Rew et al., 2016), which asked YAEH to rate levels of stress related to stressors (e.g. finding enough food to eat, earning money, being arrested, getting along with friends). Types of stress were grouped into four subscales – physical safety, immediate needs, future direction, and relationships. Linear regressions were used to examine the associations between demographic characteristics and each of the four types of stress subscales. Separate and combined logistic regression models examined likelihood of marijuana use within the past 30 days.

Results: Demographic characteristics differentially predicted different types of stress. YAEH that identified as LGBQ had higher stress in physical safety (B=.20, SE=.05, p<.01), immediate needs (B=.12, SE=.06, p<.05), future direction (B=.15, SE=.06, p<.05), and relationships (B=.286, SE=.06, p<.05). Those with histories of juvenile legal involvement had higher stress of physical safety (B=.13, SE=.05, p<.01) and female gender was associated with higher stress of relationships (B=.14, SE=.06, p<.05). Stress related to physical safety (OR=1.45; CI=1.27-1.68; p<.001), immediate needs (OR=1.40; CI=1.23-1.56; p<.001), future direction (OR=1.41; CI=1.26-1.59; p<.001), and relationships (OR=1.26; CI=1.12-1.43; p<.001) were associated with higher odds of using marijuana in separate models. When including all in the same model, stress related to physical safety (OR=1.30; CI=1.09-1.54; p=.004) and future direction (OR=1.26; CI=1.09-1.54; p=.008) were associated with marijuana use, while other types of stress did not reach statistical significance.

Conclusions: Types of stress are an important consideration to target interventions for YAEH. Stress specifically related to physical safety and determining future direction may precede stress coping mechanisms, such as marijuana use and stress reduction. For providers, understanding the differential impact of types of stress can help prioritize intervention and thoughtful response tailored for subgroups such as YAEH who identify as LGBQ. For YAEH, knowing that types of stress influence substance use may offer opportunities to strategize around limited cognitive and physical resources and provide an invitation to reduce self-blame.