TABLE 1—
Sociodemographic Characteristics of Homeless Adolescents and Young Adults With and Without Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI): Wilder Homelessness Study, Minnesota, 2006 and 2009 (n = 2732)
| History of TBI,a % or Mean (SD) |
||||
| Variable | Total, No. (%) or Mean (SD) | Yes (n = 1145) | No (n = 1549) | PRb (95% CI) |
| Age, y | ||||
| 11–15 | 69 (2.5) | 1.9 | 3.0 | 0.77 (0.50, 1.18) |
| 16–18 | 794 (29.1) | 26.6 | 30.7 | 0.93 (0.80, 1.07) |
| 19–24 | 1107 (40.5) | 40.2 | 40.9 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| 25–28 | 762 (27.9) | 31.4 | 25.4 | 1.13 (0.99, 1.30) |
| Gender | ||||
| Female | 1730 (63.3) | 54.2 | 70.2 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Male | 990 (36.2) | 45.4 | 29.3 | 1.47 (1.31, 1.65) |
| Transgender | 12 (0.4) | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.92 (0.34, 2.45) |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| Black/African Native | 952 (35.3) | 29.4 | 39.5 | 0.73 (0.63, 0.84) |
| American Indian/Native American | 372 (13.8) | 14.9 | 13.2 | 0.93 (0.78, 1.11) |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 53 (2.0) | 1.5 | 2.2 | 0.70 (0.43, 1.13) |
| White | 1022 (37.9) | 43.5 | 33.9 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Other (including multiracial) | 297 (11.0) | 10.8 | 11.2 | 0.85 (0.70, 1.04) |
| Hispanicc | 273 (10.4) | 9.7 | 11.1 | 0.91 (0.75, 1.11) |
| Sexual orientation | ||||
| Heterosexual/straight | 2363 (90.2) | 88.0 | 91.9 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Gay/lesbian | 75 (2.9) | 3.7 | 2.2 | 1.33 (0.98, 1.82) |
| Bisexual | 149 (5.7) | 7.0 | 4.7 | 1.26 (1.00, 1.59) |
| Unsure | 33 (1.3) | 1.4 | 1.2 | 1.09 (0.66, 1.82) |
| Marital status | ||||
| Single, never married | 2407 (88.8) | 88.0 | 89.5 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Married | 114 (4.2) | 4.2 | 4.1 | 1.02 (0.77, 1.37) |
| Separated, divorced, or widowed | 191 (7.0) | 7.8 | 6.5 | 1.12 (0.90, 1.39) |
| Educational attainment in relation to aged | ||||
| Lower than expected for age | 1074 (39.9) | 43.4 | 37.3 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Commensurate with age | 1024 (38.0) | 36.3 | 39.3 | 0.88 (0.77, 1.00) |
| Higher than expected for age | 596 (22.1) | 20.3 | 23.5 | 0.84 (0.72, 0.98) |
| Employment statuse | ||||
| Unemployed | 1969 (73.1) | 74.4 | 71.9 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Part time | 573 (21.3) | 20.4 | 22.1 | 0.94 (0.81, 1.08) |
| Full time | 152 (5.6) | 5.2 | 6.0 | 0.90 (0.69, 1.17) |
| History of individualized education plan or special education services | ||||
| No | 1689 (63.2) | 55.8 | 68.3 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Yes | 985 (36.8) | 44.2 | 31.7 | 1.35 (1.20, 1.52) |
| History of foster care | ||||
| No | 1848 (68.1) | 62.5 | 72.5 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Yes | 865 (31.9) | 37.5 | 27.6 | 1.29 (1.14, 1.45) |
| History of juvenile justice detainment | ||||
| No | 1924 (71.1) | 62.9 | 77.2 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Yes | 783 (28.9) | 37.1 | 22.9 | 1.45 (1.29, 1.63) |
| History of military service | ||||
| No | 2650 (97.7) | 96.0 | 99.0 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| Yes | 62 (2.3) | 4.0 | 1.0 | 1.80 (1.34, 2.42) |
| Age at first homeless episode | 16.9 (5.4) | 16.2 (5.5) | 17.4 (5.3) | 0.98 (0.97, 0.99) |
| Lifetime no. of homeless episodes | 3.9 (2.7) | 4.4 (2.7) | 3.4 (2.6) | 1.08 (1.06, 1.10) |
| Duration of current homeless episode | ||||
| ≤ 6 mo | 1356 (50.7) | 48.1 | 52.6 | 1.00 (Ref) |
| 7–12 mo | 285 (10.7) | 11.3 | 10.3 | 1.11 (0.92, 1.35) |
| 1–3 y | 676 (25.3) | 24.7 | 26.0 | 1.02 (0.88, 1.18) |
| 3–5 y | 227 (8.5) | 9.7 | 7.4 | 1.22 (0.99, 1.50) |
| ≥ 5 y | 132 (4.9) | 6.3 | 3.8 | 1.36 (1.07, 1.75) |
Note. CI = confidence interval; PR = prevalence ratio. Percentages may not equal 100% because of rounding.
Data regarding history of TBI were missing for 38 respondents.
Unadjusted comparison.
Data on Hispanic ethnicity were collected separately from data on race to enable participants to represent most accurately their ethnoracial identity; thus, tallies for race and ethnicity exceed the total sample size.
The difference between age and years of education was calculated to determine whether educational attainment was lower, commensurate with, or higher than the level expected relative to respondents’ ages. Among those aged 19 years or older, more than 12 years of education was considered higher than expected.
6.3% (n = 4) and 22.1% (n = 47) of respondents 11–15 and 16–17 years of age reported being employed, respectively. Consistent with Minnesota child labor laws specific to school years, no respondents younger than 16 years were employed more than 18 hours per week.