TABLE 1—
Homeless-Population Demographics, by Decade and Gender: St Louis, Mo: 1980, 1990, and 2000
| Males | Females | |||||
| 1980 ECA Study (n = 81) | 1990 Study (n = 600) | 2000 Study (n = 298) | 1980 ECA Study (n = 69) | 1990 Study (n = 300) | 2000 Study (n = 98) | |
| Race | ||||||
| Non-Hispanic Black | 26.0 | 69.8*** | 71.1*** | 30.5 | 84.0*** | 81.4*** |
| Non-Hispanic White | 72.1 | 27.5*** | 20.1***a | 63.2 | 12.0*** | 14.4*** |
| Other | 2.0 | 2.7 | 8.7**c | 6.3 | 4.0 | 4.1 |
| Age, y | ||||||
| 18–24 | 14.6 | 11.8 | 3.4**c | 43.6 | 32.4 | 26.5**c |
| 25–44 | 52.1 | 69.8* | 51.7c | 43.4 | 62.9* | 55.1 |
| 45–64 | 22.5 | 16.7 | 44.0**b | 9.0 | 4.0 | 17.4c |
| ≥ 65 | 10.8 | 1.7 | 1.0* | 4.0 | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Mean years | 39.7 | 35.9 | 43.1b | 31.1 | 29.0 | 34.5c |
| Standard deviation | 18.1 | 10.8 | 9.3 | 13.9 | 8.6 | 11.0 |
| Median years | 33 | 34 | 43 | 26 | 27 | 35 |
| Marital status | ||||||
| Married | 35.0 | 4.2*** | 5.4*** | 27.2 | 7.0* | 6.1* |
| Widowed | 8.8 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 6.3 | 2.7 | 7.1 |
| Separated | 8.1 | 16.8** | 14.1 | 8.7 | 20.0** | 12.2 |
| Divorced | 17.6 | 22.0 | 25.8 | 14.2 | 10.0 | 13.3 |
| Never married | 30.7 | 54.5*** | 51.7** | 43.7a | 60.3 | 61.2 |
| Education | ||||||
| High school diploma or GED | 63.1 | 57.3 | 75.4c | 64.0 | 49.7 | 57.7 |
| Mean years | 12.1 | 11.7 | 12.0 | 11.5 | 11.4 | 11.5 |
| Standard deviation | 3.1 | 2.4 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 |
| Median years | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 |
| Current full-time employment | 50.3 | 10.7*** | 24.7***c | 19.3 | 6.6* | 16.5a |
Note. Compared with the 1980 Epidemiologic Catchment Area study, *P ≤ .05, **P ≤ .01, and ***P ≤ .001; compared with the 1990 study, aP ≤ .05, bP ≤ .01, and cP ≤ .001.