Table 3.
First Author, Year (Reference No.) | Design | Data Source | Location | Total No.a | No. of Veterans | Sampling Frame | Study Period | Findings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Robertson. 1987 (1)b |
Cross-sectional study | Surveys of shelter users | Los Angeles and Boston |
635 | 246 | Homeless male adults in Los Angeles and Boston |
1983–1985 | Veterans were older, better educated, more likely to be white, more likely to have married, and more likely to be receiving some type of government assistance than nonveterans. Veterans also had higher rates of psychiatric hospitalization and more physical health problems, and they were more likely to identify substance abuse as a reason for their homelessness, although they were less likely to be street drug users than nonveterans. |
Roth, 1992 (58) |
Cross-sectional study | State-wide survey of homeless adults |
Ohio | 790 | 305 | Homeless male adults in Ohio |
1984 | Veterans were older, more likely to be white, better educated, more likely to have been married, to have been in jail, to have alcohol problems, and to use shelters than nonveterans. |
Rosenheck, 1994 (52) |
Population-based case-control and cross-sectional study |
Urban Institute's 1987 national survey of homeless service users, 3 city surveys, and the 1987 Current Population Survey |
City-wide surveys were in Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Chicago |
2,223 | 916 | Homeless male adults |
1985–1987 | Veterans were at higher risk than nonveterans, especially striking among white men aged 20–34 years, post-Vietnam era or later (OR = 4.76). |
Among white men and black men, homeless veterans were more educated and more likely to be married than their nonveteran counterparts. There was little difference in mental and substance use disorders, except in those aged 20–34 years in which white veterans had higher rates of mental and substance use disorders than nonveterans, and black veterans had higher rates of substance use disorders. | ||||||||
Rosenheck, 1993 (60) |
Population-based cross-sectional study |
Urban Institute's 1987 national survey of homeless service users and 2 city surveys in 1986 |
City-wide surveys were in Los Angeles and Chicago |
1,991 | 793 | Homeless male adults |
1986–1987 | Veterans were older, more educated, more likely to have married, and more likely to be white than nonveterans. |
No consistent difference in physical or mental health between veterans and nonveterans. | ||||||||
Rosenheck, 1997 (39)c |
Population-based case-control study |
Four community homeless surveys and nationally conducted between 1986 and 1988, as well as the 1987 Current Population Survey |
Baltimore, Los Angeles, and Chicago |
2,223 | 915 | Homeless adults | 1986–1987 | Only veterans of the post-Vietnam generation (OR = 3.95) and in the generation between the Korea and Vietnam eras (OR = 1.75) had a greater risk than nonveterans in those age cohorts. |
Winkleby, 1993 (59) |
Cross-sectional study | Survey of 3 National Guard armories offering free shelter to adults without children |
California | 1,008 | 423 | Single homeless shelter users in California |
1989–1990 | Veterans entered homelessness at later ages and were older, more highly educated, more likely to be separated/divorced, and less likely to be Hispanic than nonveterans. Veterans were also more likely to have physical and mental disorders and to report excessive alcohol use than nonveterans. |
Tessler, 2002 (61) |
Cross-sectional study | ACCESS program evaluation |
9 states | 4,488 | 1,252 | Homeless male adults |
1994–1998 | Veterans were older (OR = 0.58), better educated (OR = 1.16), less likely to have married (OR = 0.49), more likely to be working for pay (OR = 1.02), more likely black (OR = 1.3), less likely to be Hispanic (OR = 0.53), and were homeless for longer (OR = 1.17) than nonveterans. |
Veterans also reported fewer symptoms of conduct disorder in childhood (OR = 0.91) but were more likely to report alcohol abuse/dependence in adulthood (OR = 1.56). | ||||||||
Gamache, 2003 (53) |
Population-based case-control study and cross-sectional study |
ACCESS program evaluation, NSHAPC, and the 1996 Current Population Survey |
9 states | 3,490 | 143 | Homeless women with mental illness |
1994–1998 | Female veterans were more likely to be homeless than female adults in the general population (OR = 3.58) and the low-income population (OR = 4.39). |
Female veterans were less likely to report misconduct or family instability during childhood and were more educated, more likely to be married, and more likely recently employed than female nonveterans. | ||||||||
Gamache, 2001 (27) |
Population-based case-control study |
NSHAPC and the 1996 Current Population Survey |
National | 1,841 | 602 | Homeless male adults |
1996 | White veterans and black veterans under the age of 55 years (post-Vietnam era or later) had a greater risk than nonveterans (OR = 1.01–3.95). |
Tessler, 2003 (57) |
Cross-sectional study | NSHAPC | National | 1,691 | 570 | Homeless male adults who used homeless services |
1996 | Veterans less than 45 years of age (early years of the all-volunteer force) were more likely to be homeless for longer than 6 months than other adults (OR = 2.48), but veterans 45 years or older were less likely and had fewer risk factors. |
Compared with other homeless adults less than 45 years of age, homeless veterans were less often white, less likely to have an employment history, more likely to be divorced/separated, more likely to have drug problems, and more likely to have used inpatient mental health services, but they had a higher level of education and were likely to have been in foster care. | ||||||||
O'Toole, 2003 (62) |
Cross-sectional study | Survey in unsheltered enclaves, emergency shelters, and transitional housing or single-room occupancy dwellings |
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia |
425 | 127 | Homeless male adults in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia |
1997 | Veterans were significantly older, better educated, and more likely to have health insurance (including VA coverage) than nonveterans. |
Veterans were more likely to report a chronic medical condition (66.1% vs. 55.4%), especially hepatitis or cirrhosis (18.9% vs. 7.0%) than nonveterans and to have more than 1 mental health condition (33.1% vs. 22.2%), especially post-traumatic stress disorder (18.1% vs. 8.1%). | ||||||||
Tsai, 2012 (56) |
Observational longitudinal study |
Collaborative Initiative to Help End Chronic Homelessness Program evaluation |
9 states | 550 | 162 | Chronically homeless adults |
2004–2009 | Veterans were older, more likely to be in the Vietnam era age group, to be male, and to have a higher education than nonveterans. |
There were no differences between veterans and nonveterans on housing or clinical outcomes over 1 year. | ||||||||
Fargo, 2012 (55) |
Case-control study | HMIS and the American Community Survey |
National | 130,554 | 10,726 | Homeless adults in the community |
2008 | Veterans were at greater risk for homelessness compared with other homeless adults in the general population (RR = 1.3) and in the poverty population (RR = 2.1). For veterans and nonveterans, being black (OR = 2.18.45–5.49) and men aged between 45 and 54 years were at higher risk (OR = 1.85– 2.65). |
HUD and VA, 2010 (54) |
Case-control study | Point-in-Time data from HUD and HMIS |
National | 1,257,927 | 144,842 | All sheltered homeless adults |
2010 | Veterans who were female, individuals (as opposed to families), from racial/ethnic minority groups, and aged 18– 30 years were at greater risk than nonveterans. |
Montgomery, 2013 (65) |
Cross-sectional study | Washington State Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System |
Washington State |
2,313,988 | 293,707 | Veterans and other adults with any history of homelessness |
2010 | The association between adverse childhood experiences and adult homelessness was greater for nonveterans than veterans (OR = 1.67 vs. 1.42). |
Abbreviations: ACCESS, Access to Community Care and Effective Services and Supports; HMIS, Homeless Management Information System; HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development; NSHAPC, National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients; OR, odds ratio; RR, risk ratio; VA, Department of Veterans Affairs.
Total sample size of homeless adults (not including nonhomeless adults).
Surveys of Boston were conducted by Schutt in 1985 and 1986 (111, 112) but described by Robertson (1).
This book chapter was also cited in Table 1.