Housing Insecurity Exposure and Mental Distress in Low-Income Urban Families

Abstract

The rapid acceleration of urbanization globally has brought forward critical challenges related to housing affordability, stability, and quality, particularly for low income families residing in metropolitan areas. Housing insecurity has emerged as a profoundly disruptive social determinant of health, yet its precise longitudinal impacts on mental distress remain inadequately characterized in contemporary academic discourse. This paper presents a comprehensive cohort study examining the dynamic relationship between varying degrees of housing insecurity exposure and subsequent psychological distress among low income urban families over a thirty-six month period. Utilizing a rigorously selected cohort of families, this study captures multiple dimensions of housing vulnerability, including severe rent burden, frequent forced relocations, overcrowding, and the persistent threat of eviction. The research maps these exposures against standardized measures of mental distress, such as anxiety, depressive symptoms, and chronic psychological stress. Through advanced longitudinal modeling, the findings demonstrate a distinct dose-response relationship wherein prolonged and compounding housing insecurity events significantly elevate the baseline risk for severe mental health deterioration. Furthermore, the analysis identifies critical windows of vulnerability and specific socio-demographic moderators that exacerbate these adverse outcomes. By establishing a temporal sequence between housing instability and mental distress, this study provides vital empirical evidence to inform public health initiatives and urban housing policies aimed at stabilizing vulnerable populations and mitigating the psychological burdens associated with urban poverty.