The Impact of Childhood Eviction on Depression in Early Adulthood

Background and Purpose: Housing instability is one of the most urgent social and economic crises in the United States. Eviction, as a severe form of housing instability, is associated with decreased access to employment, education, and healthcare (Benfer et al., 2021). Over the last two decades, an average of 3.6 million evictions were filed annually, highlighting the widespread and persistent nature of this crisis (Keene et al., 2023). Although several studies examine the social and health consequences of eviction, much less is known about the impact of experiencing eviction during childhood on mental health outcomes in early adulthood. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the relationship between childhood eviction experiences and depression symptoms.

Methods: This study uses data from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) (1998–2024), a nationally representative, longitudinal study of parents and children. FFCWS began in 1998 with self-description questionnaires and parent interviews at Baseline relying on a stratified, multistage, probability sampling frame (n = 4,898 families). FFCWS then followed up with respondents through a series of self-description questionnaires in 1999-2001 (Year 1), 2001-03 (Year 3), 2003–06 (Year 5), 2007–10 (Year 9), 2014–17 (Year 15), 2020–24 (Year 22). This study utilizes data from the self-description questionnaires at Year 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, and 22. A logistic regression was used to examine the impacts of potential contributing variables on depression symptoms.

Results: After the analysis, eviction experiences at Years 1, 3, 5, 9, and 15 were not significantly associated with depression symptoms. However, a recent eviction experience at Year 22 was a highly significant predictor of depression in young adulthood (AOR = 2.92, p < .001). In addition to eviction, participant characteristics such as gender and education were also significantly associated with depression. Male participants were 54% less likely to report depressive symptoms compared to female participants (AOR = 0.46, p < .001), and those with some college education were 1.64 times more likely to report depressive symptoms than those with less than a high school education (AOR = 1.64, p < .001).

Conclusions and Implications: This study highlights a strong association between recent eviction experiences and symptoms of depression in early adulthood. Specifically, participants who experienced a recent eviction were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms compared to those who had not. Although the direct relationship between eviction experiences in-early childhood and depressive symptoms in early adulthood was not statistically significant, the potential indirect effects remain unclear These findings suggest the importance of examining both the timing and the pathways through which eviction may impact mental health outcomes. Moreover, for young adults, eviction can be a significant stressor affecting mental health, and effective intervention cannot rely solely on mental health services.