Table 1.
Financial hardship and social assistance as predictors of mental health, food insufficiency, and likely housing eviction among those with job-related income loss during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey, September–December 2020 a.
| Outcome |
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anxiety symptoms (n = 76,528) | Depressive symptoms (n = 76,474) | Food insufficiency (n = 82,531) | Likely housing eviction c (n = 28,716) | |||||
| Predictor | Prevalence ratio (95% CI)b | P value | Prevalence ratio (95% CI)b | P value | Prevalence ratio (95% CI)b | P value | Prevalence ratio (95% CI)b | P value |
| Difficulty with paying expenses d | ||||||||
| A little difficult | 1.56 (1.46–1.66) | <.001 | 1.52 (1.40–1.66) | <.001 | 4.79 (3.24–7.08) | <.001 | 2.05 (0.75–5.66) | .16 |
| Somewhat difficult | 1.96 (1.85–2.08) | <.001 | 2.01 (1.86–2.18) | <.001 | 11.60 (7.99–16.85) | <.001 | 6.75 (2.59–17.58) | <.001 |
| Very difficult | 2.61 (2.46–2.76) | <.001 | 2.75 (2.54–2.98) | <.001 | 22.71 (15.62–33.01) | <.001 | 27.20 (10.63–69.59) | <.001 |
| P for trend | – | <.001 | – | <.001 | – | <.001 | – | <.001 |
| Receipt of UI benefits e | 0.95 (0.92–0.99) | .005 | 0.96 (0.92–0.997) | .04 | 0.96 (0.91–1.005) | .08 | 0.75 (0.68–0.84) | <.001 |
| Receipt of SNAP benefits e | – | – | – | – | 0.98 (0.92–1.03) | .38 | – | – |
Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; SNAP, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program; UI, unemployment insurance.
All models were adjusted for age, age (Center on Budget and Poli), gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, educational attainment, 2019 household income, use of federal stimulus assistance, household size, presence of children in household, overall health status, state of residence, and survey period. The model for current food insufficiency was also adjusted for food insufficiency prior to March 13, 2020. Participants were surveyed in Phases 2 and 3 of the U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey (Phase 2 waves: September 2–14, September 16–28, September 30—October 12, October 14–26; Phase 3 waves: October 28—November 9, 2020, November 11—November 23, 2020, November 25—December 7, 2020, December 9—December 21, 2020).
Prevalence ratio point estimates, 95% confidence intervals, and P values were derived from Poisson log-binomial regression models fit using generalized estimating equations that incorporated person weights, repeated measures, and robust standard errors. Missing data were handled using 25 multiple imputation data sets.
This analysis was restricted to housing renters.
The reference category was those reporting it was not at all difficult to pay for usual expenses over the previous week.
The reference category was those reporting no household receipt of corresponding UI or SNAP benefits since March 13, 2020.