Abstract
There is limited consensus on the critical domains of housing satisfaction among chronically homeless adults and little information on changes in housing satisfaction over time or whether housing satisfaction at initial entry into housing is correlated with subsequent subjective well-being or other outcomes. The current study tracked housing satisfaction over a 2-year period in a multi-site supported housing initiative and examined the predictive value of clients’ housing satisfaction when they were first housed on various subjective and functional outcomes. A total of 756 participants from 11 sites were enrolled in the study. Six domains of housing satisfaction were identified: good environment, control and consumer choice, physical quality, geographic proximity to desirable resources, positive case manager contact, and frequency of landlord interaction. Over 2 years, there were slight declines in housing satisfaction on physical quality of housing and satisfaction with case manager contact, and an increase in satisfaction with landlord interaction. Consistent with some previous research, housing satisfaction was not predictive of housing tenure, clinical outcomes, or duration of program participation. While becoming housed is a significant gain for chronically homeless people, their satisfaction with housing did not predict functional outcomes.
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The CICH Funder's Group representing HUD (PD&R and SNAPS), HHS (ASPE), and VA provided essential support and guidance to this evaluation. The CICH evaluation has been completed and the Federal Government is no longer involved. This material is also based upon work supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Research and Development. The views presented here are those of the authors, alone, and do not represent the position of any federal agency or of the United States Government.
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Tsai, J., Mares, A.S. & Rosenheck, R.A. Housing Satisfaction Among Chronically Homeless Adults: Identification of its Major Domains, Changes Over Time, and Relation to Subjective Well-being and Functional Outcomes. Community Ment Health J 48, 255–263 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9385-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-011-9385-x