Doctoral Dissertation Research: Residential Outcomes for Families Receiving Housing Assistance

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

This study centers on a vital issue facing U.S. society today: how families use limited financial resources to find and maintain suitable housing in desirable neighborhoods when affordable housing is in short supply. This is important since where people live matters for their health, education, and other outcomes. Yet, affordable housing has arguably become less accessible over the past several decades, as housing costs have risen substantially more than incomes. This project tests emerging theories that emphasize that how households search for new housing is both important for residential outcomes and influenced by the conditions of where we have lived and our experiences there, the input and location of our social networks, and our preferences, ideals, and expectations for when and where to move. This study elucidates the links between past residential and social conditions, residential preferences, expectations and ideals (psychosocial factors), the housing search, and current residence. Findings from this work will facilitate decisions that broaden access to homes that meet residents' needs. This project examines the relationships among residential dynamics for Housing Choice Voucher program participants living with children in a particular county. It employs information from 50-55 qualitative in-depth interviews, longitudinal administrative data from two local public housing authorities, and tract-level data from the U.S. Census Bureau and a regional council. Interviews provide insight into householders' residential histories, social networks, residential psychosocial factors, housing search processes, and residential satisfaction. Quantitative data offer additional background information to assess residential outcomes from before and after a move, according to commonly used measures of household and neighborhood socioeconomic context. Using the combination of qualitative and quantitative data facilitates the comparison of outcomes according to standard socioeconomic measures and participants' reported residential satisfaction. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.