Psychosocial Characteristics of Homeless Children and Children With Homes

Abstract

A comparison was made of 86 children from 49 homeless Boston families headed by women and 134 children from 81 housed Boston families headed by women. In both groups, the mothers were poor, currently single, and had been receiving welfare payments for long periods. Data were collected from the mothers by personal interview; standardized tests were administered to mothers and children (Denver Developmental Screening Test, Simmons Behavior Checklist, Children's Depression Inventory, Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Child Behavior Checklist. The data indicate that many homeless children and poor children with homes have severe and pressing problems. Among preschool children, a higher proportion of homeless children than poor children with homes had one or more developmental delays (P less than .05), although their scores on the Simmons Behavior Checklist were similar. Among school-aged children, the scores of the homeless children were worse than those of the children with homes on the Children's Depression Inventory, Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Child Behavior Checklist, but only the difference on the Anxiety Scale approached statistical significance (P = .06). Both homeless children and poor children with homes generally had worse scores than most other comparison groups of children. Unless action is taken to improve the lot of all these children, it is likely that many will continue to have significant problems that will seriously hamper their ability to function.