Dating Violence and Housing Insecurity Among College Students: Examining Disability and Racial Disparities to Inform Institutional Action

Background and Purpose: Dating violence (DV) is a prevalent form of interpersonal violence on college campuses and is associated with numerous adverse academic and health outcomes. One of the most significant but understudied impacts of DV in higher education settings is housing insecurity. Survivors of DV may face eviction, unstable living situations, and a lack of safe housing due to economic abuse, isolation, or disruptions to employment and academics. Students with marginalized identities—including those with disabilities and those from marginalized racial and ethnic groups —may be disproportionately affected. This study draws on campus climate survey data from across two campuses at a large, public university to examine the relationship between DV victimization and housing insecurity among college students, focusing specifically on students who experienced DV during college. This presentation supports the conference theme of Leading for Transformative Change: Aligning Social Work Science with Policy and Practice by providing actionable data to inform institutional strategies that can improve housing stability for student survivors.

Methods: Data were drawn from a university-wide climate survey conducted across two campuses at a large, public Mid-Atlantic institution between October and December 2020. The survey included a validated measure of dating violence (MARSHA) and a composite measure of housing insecurity adapted from Goldrick-Rab et al. (2017)’s national survey tool. Only students who reported romantic or sexual involvement since entering college were asked the DV module questions (n = 1,599). Analyses focused on the subset of students who experienced DV (physical, psychological, sexual, or cyber), and multivariate logistic regression was conducted to examine the associations between sociodemographic variables—disability status, race/ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, and receipt of financial aid—and any past-year housing insecurity.

Findings: Among students who experienced DV in college, those with a disability had significantly higher odds of experiencing housing insecurity (OR = 2.73, p < .001) compared to students with no reported disability. Students identifying as Black/African American (OR = 2.88, p = .001), Asian American (OR = 2.26, p = .020), or Latine/Hispanic (OR = 1.88, p = .038) had greater odds of housing insecurity compared to White students. The most frequently reported forms of housing insecurity included not knowing where to sleep at night and being thrown out of one's home.

Implications and Conclusions: These findings underscore how structural inequities related to disability and race may compound the destabilizing effects of DV, even within the relatively resource-rich context of a college campus. Findings from this study highlight the urgent need for campus-based housing and financial supports tailored to DV survivors, especially those with marginalized identities. While many campus and community services respond to the immediate safety needs of DV survivors, few address their long-term housing stability—an essential factor in student success, mental health, and degree completion.