Table 1.
Comparison of Birmingham Homeless Survey Samples in 1995 and 2005
| Characteristic | 1995 | 2005 | p* |
|---|---|---|---|
| (n = 161) | (n = 161) | ||
| Predisposing variables | |||
| Age: mean (SD) | 37 (10) | 41 (10) | <0.001 |
| Non-Black race, % | 38 | 34 | 0.05 |
| Female, % | 36 | 34 | 0.64 |
| Graduated high school, % | 96 | 74 | <0.001 |
| Presently with children while homeless, % | 14 | 5 | 0.005 |
| Ever been to jail or prison, % | 61 | 78 | 0.001 |
| Homeless >180 days, % | 58 | 69 | 0.05 |
| Unsheltered in last 2 weeks, % | 28 | 30 | 0.71 |
| Married/partnered, % | 4 | 6 | 0.62† |
| History of military service, % | 33 | 21 | 0.01 |
| Physical or sexual abuse in past year, % | 14 | 16 | 0.53 |
| Victimization by robbery, past 6 months, % | 22 | 16 | 0.16 |
| Enabling/impeding variables | |||
| Competing needs, 0–8 scale: mean (SD) | 2.3 (2.4) | 2.4 (2.2) | <0.001 |
| Paid work in 7 days, % | 48 | 30 | <0.001 |
| Main source of income, prior month | 0.008 | ||
| Work, % | 42 | 27 | |
| Benefits, % | 26 | 26 | |
| None/other, % | 32 | 47 | |
| Currently receiving veterans’ benefits, % | 4 | 5 | 1.0† |
| Need variables | |||
| Physical symptom count of 23: mean (SD) | 4.7 (4.0) | 5.9 (4.6) | 0.02 |
| Hypertension, % | 27 | 40 | 0.02 |
| Diabetes, % | 9 | 9 | 0.85 |
| Human immunodeficiency virus infection, % | 0.6 | 8.1 | 0.001 |
| Mental illness diagnosed or treated, lifetime, % | 31% | 36% | 0.34 |
| Drinking caused a problem, ever in life, % | 55% | 55% | 0.92 |
| At-risk drinking in past month, % | 24% | 16% | 0.05 |
| Any illicit drug use, past month, % | 21% | 25% | 0.43 |
| Received drug abuse treatment, ever in life, % | 36% | 69% | <0.0001 |
*Statistical comparisons for the 2 years were t-tests and chi-Square tests
†Compared with Fisher’s exact test