The influence of housing, education and employment trajectories on mental health and behavioral outcomes for youth receiving child welfare and community services.

The majority of youth receiving child welfare and community services remained consistently engaged in work and/or education throughout the three-year study period.

• 62.10% of participants remained consistently engaged in work and/or education throughout the study
• 5.90% were consistently not engaged
• 19.00% transitioned from engaged to disengaged
• 13.00% transitioned from disengaged to engaged by the end of the study
• At baseline, 85.50% were engaged in work and/or education

The majority of youth receiving child welfare and community services lived in self-directed or supported housing throughout the study, while a minority transitioned into or out of unstable housing.

• 78.40% of participants lived in self-directed or supported housing throughout the study
• 10.80% transitioned into unstable housing during the study
• 10.80% transitioned from unstable to stable housing during the study
• At baseline, 90.50% lived in self-directed or supported housing provided by child welfare and/or community services

Significant differences were found between housing trajectory groups in temporal patterns of future orientation, substance use, psychological resilience, and caregiver support.

• Between-group differences were found for future orientation, substance use, psychological resilience, and caregiver support across housing trajectories
• Transitioning to unstable housing was predictive of increased substance use and decreased positive future orientation
• Housing stability was associated with decreases in risk exposure
• No significant differences were observed between engagement in work and/or education trajectories
• Repeated-measures ANOVAs were used to examine within-group changes over time and between-group differences

Within-group differences across time were found for certain housing and engagement trajectories on several variables.

• Within-group differences were observed across several variables for certain housing trajectories
• Within-group differences were also observed for certain work and/or education engagement trajectories
• The study used repeated-measures ANOVAs to examine within-group changes over time
• The longitudinal design covered three annual assessments from 2022 to 2024

The study sample consisted of 169 youth from Nova Scotia, Canada who were receiving child welfare and community services, surveyed annually over three years.

• Mean age at baseline was 16.49 years (SD = 1.48, range = 14–19)
• 56.00% of participants were female
• 78.10% self-identified as White
• Participants were surveyed annually from 2022 to 2024
• Participants were grouped based on trajectories in housing and engagement in work and/or education across three annual assessments

Prior studies have shown that youth receiving child welfare and community services are at greater risk for negative psychological and social outcomes.

• This population is described as being at greater risk for negative psychological and social outcomes in prior research
• The current study focuses on resilience-enabling patterns rather than deficits
• Housing and work/educational engagement trajectories were examined as predictors of positive development both during and after services