Journal article
From substance use to homelessness or vice versa?
D McVicar, J Moschion, JC van Ours
Social Science and Medicine | Published : 2015
Abstract
Homelessness is associated with substance use, but whether substance use precedes or follows homelessness is unclear. We investigate the nature of the relationship between homelessness and substance use using data from the unique Australian panel dataset Journeys Home collected in 4 surveys over the period from October 2011 to May 2013. Our data refer to 1325 individuals who were homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. We investigate dynamics in homelessness and substance use over the survey period. We find that the two are closely related: homeless individuals are more likely to be substance users and substance users are more likely to be homeless. These relationships, however, are predom..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This paper uses unit record data from Journeys Home: Longitudinal Study of Factors Affecting Housing Stability (Journeys Home). The study was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services (DSS). The Department of Employment has provided information for use in Journeys Home and it is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the authors and should not be attributed to DSS, the Department of Employment or the Melbourne Institute. The authors would also like to thank Dan O'Flaherty, Dave Ribar, Steve Stillman, the two anonymous referees and seminar participants at Humboldt University and the University of Melbourne for useful comments on earlier drafts.