Intersecting Pathways: Couch-Surfing, Social Networks, and Sexual Risk Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Background and Purpose: “Couch-surfing,” or moving from one temporary housing arrangement to another, is highly prevalent among youth experiencing homelessness, but its associated risks are understudied. Meanwhile, couch-surfing youth—who are more likely to be racial and sexual minorities—remain barred from many resources within current service systems that deprioritize couch-surfing. Prior work suggests couch-surfing may be specifically associated with certain sexual risks, but scant studies explore the dynamic socioenvironmental contexts influencing these risks.

Methods: Interviews were conducted between June and July 2023 in Los Angeles, CA, with 25 youth between the ages of 18 and 25 who reported couch-surfing and being sexually active in the past year. Youth interviewed were predominantly male (40% male; 24% female; 20% non-binary; 16% transgender), youth of color (32% Latinx; 24% Black; 12% White; 28% Multiracial), and LGBQ+-identifying (64% identified as a sexual minority). Participants were recruited in-person from two major drop-in centers serving youth experiencing homelessness. A timeline followback method was used to elicit homelessness trajectories and sexual activity over the previous 12 months. Thematic analysis was conducted in ATLAS.ti and used to explore the social support networks and sexual behaviors of young adults while couch-surfing.

Results: Youth relayed a range of sexual attitudes and behaviors that were often intertwined with complex socioenvironmental factors surrounding their couch-surfing experiences. Several participants described experiences of sexual risk and trauma that impacted their social support systems, their pathways into (and out of) various couch-surfing arrangements, and their physical and mental health. Findings suggest that young people’s sexual risk-taking, including engagement in transactional sex, was often embedded within dynamic negotiations surrounding their needs for emotional connection, a sense of self, and a place to stay. Youth offered a variety of suggestions for improving the sexual health and well-being of young people who are couch-surfing, often emphasizing the need for safe and stable housing and underscoring positive relationships with service providers.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings illustrate the considerable degree of heterogeneity among couch-surfing youth with respects to their homelessness trajectories and perceptions of their social support networks—and the differential impact that these factors can have on young people’s sexual risk. Disentangling and understanding these vulnerabilities is critical to addressing issues of equity and access within homeless services systems that deprioritize couch-surfing, and to promoting the overall health and well-being of youth experiencing homelessness.