Table 3.
Comparisons of socio-demographic, mental disorders and drug-use related characteristics by history of foster care among Vancouver At Home participants (n = 442)
| Variable | Foster care - no | Foster care - yes | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Need level | |||
| High | 186 (70) | 81 (30) | 0.908 |
| Moderate | 121 (69) | 54 (31) | |
| Study arm | |||
| Housing first (HF) | 190 (69) | 84 (31) | 0.947 |
| Treatment as usual (TAU) | 117 (70) | 51 (30) | |
| Gender | |||
| Male | 231 (73) | 86 (27) | 0.011* |
| Female | 73 (60) | 48 (40) | |
| Age at randomization | |||
| 19-24 years | 18 (62) | 11 (38) | 0.007** |
| 25-44 years | 164 (65) | 90 (35) | |
| >44 years | 125 (79) | 34 (21) | |
| Ethnicity | <0.001*** | ||
| Aboriginal | 26 (38) | 42 (62) | |
| White | 188 (75) | 62 (25) | |
| Other | 93 (75) | 31 (25) | |
| Educational attainment | <0.001*** | ||
| Completed high school | 152 (80) | 38 (20) | |
| Incomplete high school | 153 (61) | 96 (39) | |
| Marital status | 0.880 | ||
| Single (never married) | 213 (70) | 92 (30) | |
| Other | 94 (69) | 42 (31) | |
| Have children (under age 18) | 0.001*** | ||
| No | 237 (73) | 87 (27) | |
| Yes | 62 (57) | 47 (43) | |
| Worked continuously at least one year in the past | <0.001*** | ||
| No | 89 (58) | 65 (42) | |
| Yes | 215 (75) | 70 (25) | |
| Unemployed | 0.346 | ||
| No | 26 (77) | 8 (23) | |
| Yes | 279 (69) | 127 (31) | |
| Jail (past 6 months) | 0.085+ | ||
| No | 273 (71) | 112 (29) | |
| Yes | 34 (60) | 23 (40) | |
| Housing status | 0.357 | ||
| Precariously housed | 63 (66) | 33 (34) | |
| Absolutely homeless | 244 (71) | 102 (29) | |
| Duration of homelessness - lifetime | 0.012* | ||
| >36 months6 | 168 (75) | 57 (25) | |
| ≤36 months | 134 (64) | 77 (36) | |
| Duration homeless - longest single episode | 0.001*** | ||
| >12 months7 | 164 (77) | 50 (23) | |
| ≤12 months | 138 (62) | 84 (38) | |
| Age of first homelessness | <0.001*** | ||
| ≥25 years | 192 (79) | 52 (21) | |
| <25 years | 111 (58) | 81 (42) | |
| Overall health | 0.944 | ||
| Fair/good/excellent | 265 (70) | 116 (30) | |
| Poor | 42 (70) | 18 (30) | |
| Less severe mental illness | 0.001*** | ||
| No | 160 (77) | 47 (23) | |
| Yes | 147 (63) | 88 (37) | |
| Severe mental illness | 0.879 | ||
| No | 82 (69) | 37 (31) | |
| Yes | 225 (70) | 98 (30) | |
| Multiple (≥2) mental disorders | <0.001*** | ||
| No | 176 (77) | 53 (23) | |
| Yes | 131 (62) | 82 (38) | |
| Alcohol dependence | 0.954 | ||
| No | 235 (70) | 103 (30) | |
| Yes | 72 (69) | 32 (31) | |
| Substance dependence | 0.011* | ||
| No | 140 (76) | 44 (24) | |
| Yes | 167 (65) | 91 (35) | |
| Suicide risk | 0.034* | ||
| High | 260 (72) | 103 (28) | |
| No/low/moderate | 47 (60) | 32 (40) | |
| Blood-borne infectious diseases | 0.730 | ||
| No | 207 (70) | 89 (30) | |
| Yes | 97 (68) | 45 (32) | |
| Multiple (≥3) physical illness | 0.415 | ||
| No | 96 (72) | 37 (28) | |
| Yes | 211 (68) | 98 (32) | |
| Initiation of alcohol | <0.001*** | ||
| Before 14 years | 173 (78) | 48 (22) | |
| 14 years or after | 115 (58) | 83 (42) | |
| Initiation of drugs | <0.001*** | ||
| Before 14 years | 179 (76) | 57 (24) | |
| 14 years or after | 93 (56) | 74 (44) | |
| Frequency of substance use | 0.005** | ||
| Less than daily/none | 231 (73) | 84 (27) | |
| Daily | 76 (60) | 51 (40) | |
| Frequency of drug use | 0.003** | ||
| Less than daily/none | 241 (73) | 88 (27) | |
| Daily | 66 (58) | 47 (42) | |
| Injection drug use | 0.003** | ||
| No | 257 (73) | 95 (27) | |
| Yes | 47 (57) | 36 (43) | |
| Poly-substance use | 0.012** | ||
| Two or less | 157 (76) | 51 (24) | |
| Three or more | 149 (65) | 82 (35) | |
| Poly-drug use | 0.007** | ||
| Two or less | 198 (74) | 68 (26) | |
| Three or more | 108 (62) | 65 (38) | |
| Frequency of alcohol use | 0.348 | ||
| Less than daily/none | 291 (70) | 124 (30) | |
| Daily | 14 (61) | 9 (39) | |
| Frequency of cannabis use | 0.057+ | ||
| Less than daily/none | 271 (71) | 110 (29) | |
| Daily | 36 (59) | 25 (41) |
*p ≤ 0.05.
**p ≤ 0.01.
***p ≤ 0.001.
+p > 0.05 & p ≤ 0.10.
6Dichotomized based on median value (3 years).
7Dichotomized based on median value (1 year).