The relationship between housing and children’s socio-emotional and behavioral development in Australia

Abstract

Research often finds significant associations between housing characteristics and child outcomes. These are hypothesized to reflect direct and indirect effects, however it is unclear whether these associations exist across the early life course or how they operate in tandem. We investigate this using multilevel growth curve modelling of Australian panel data, focusing on children’s socio-emotional health over ages four to 15. We find that housing characteristics, namely residential instability, family composition, housing tenure and costs and the physical condition of the home dwelling have small significant associations with children’s internalizing and externalizing behaviors that change over the course of childhood and adolescence. Low-income households typically face housing disadvantage on several, though not necessarily all dimensions, potentially adding to the developmental burden on children. The results therefore suggest that housing disadvantage may compound and add to the effects of broader socioeconomic disadvantage on children.