Eviction, inability to pay rent, and youth mental health: a fixed effects study

Abstract Housing insecurity is now widespread among US youth. Evidence is limited, however, on how that is affecting their mental health. Longitudinal analyses examining specific, policy-modifiable forms of housing insecurity are especially lacking. We thus estimated associations between two housing exposures (eviction and family inability to pay housing bills) and youth mental health over time, including sleep disturbances. To do so, we analyzed all available waves of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, a national cohort of US youth (2016-2021, n = 11 868, aged 9-13 years). Models adjusted for individual-level fixed effects and time-varying sociodemographic characteristics. Results show eviction and inability to pay rent/mortgage were both associated with worse mental health, including more severe internalizing, externalizing, and sleep disturbance symptoms. In models including both housing exposures, eviction associations were attenuated, while estimates for inability to pay were effectively unchanged. Given the prevalence of families having difficulty paying housing bills, findings suggest a large pool of young people whose mental well-being may be adversely affected. If these associations reflect cause, government efforts to prevent evictions (eg, right to counsel in housing court) or lower housing cost burden (cash assistance, public housing, zoning reform, etc.) would have important benefits for young people’s psychological wellness.