The impact of housing on children's life chances

Abstract

Despite the significant amount of time that children spend in the home, relatively little attention has been paid to the direct impact of housing conditions on children's development. A literature review of over 100 research studies was undertaken to examine evidence of a ‘housing effect’ on children's health, learning, safety and behaviour. The results found strong evidence of a relationship between poor housing conditions and children's health and some evidence that growing up in sub‐standard housing affects children's performance at school. While children's safety is clearly linked to the quality of their home environment, further research is necessary to understand the apparent link between poor housing conditions and children's behavioural problems. The review suggests that growing up in poor housing has a profound and long‐term effect on children's life chances and that public policy should play closer attention to this relationship. Nevertheless, the volume of high‐quality research in this area is surprisingly limited and there is a need for more comprehensive studies.