The experiences of unstable housing and homelessness among care leavers: A systematic review of current research knowledge

IF 2.1 2区社会学 Q1 FAMILY STUDIES

Children and Youth Services Review Pub Date : 2026-12-01 Epub Date: 2026-08-29 DOI:10.1016/j.childyouth.2026.109255

Mattias Bengtsson, Veronika Paulsen, Anne-Kirstine Mølholt, Eva Dögg Sigurðardóttir, Veera Niemi, Freydís Jóna Freysteinsdóttir, Alberte Alsø Dokkedal

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Care leavers are consistently overrepresented among young people experiencing homelessness, yet limited research has explored how they understand and navigate housing instability. This systematic review synthesises qualitative research on care leavers’ lived experiences of homelessness and unstable housing. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and PRISMA principles, searches across five databases identified 3,983 records. After screening, 13 qualitative studies published between 2000 and 2024 from the United States, Australia, Ireland and Canada were included. The studies represent interviews, focus groups, and visual methods involving 294 care‑experienced young people.

The analysis identified four interconnected themes shaping care leavers’ housing pathways: (1) abrupt, age‑driven and insufficiently planned transitions from care; (2) the dual role of informal support networks, which can provide essential short‑term help but often mask hidden homelessness due to their instability; (3) the limited but meaningful stabilising function of transitional and formal support services, which frequently end abruptly and leave young people without continuity; and (4) structural barriers in the housing market, including high rental costs, income insecurity and limited access to affordable accommodation. Overall, the analysis shows how homelessness emerged not as an isolated crisis but as a cumulative trajectory shaped by institutional, relational and structural conditions.

The review highlights substantial gaps in existing research, particularly the lack of detailed qualitative studies and analyses of structural and policy‑level mechanisms shaping housing precarity for care leavers. Future research should employ youth‑centred approaches to better understand how young people navigate instability over time, and how structural barriers might be addressed to support more secure and equitable transitions from care.

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护理员中不稳定住房和无家可归的经历：对当前研究知识的系统回顾

在无家可归的年轻人中，离开者的比例一直过高，但有限的研究探讨了他们如何理解和应对住房不稳定。本系统综述综合了对护理离开者无家可归和不稳定住房的生活经历的定性研究。在Arksey和O 'Malley的框架和PRISMA原则的指导下，他们在五个数据库中搜索了3983条记录。筛选后，纳入了2000年至2024年间发表的13项定性研究，这些研究来自美国、澳大利亚、爱尔兰和加拿大。这些研究采用访谈、焦点小组和视觉方法，涉及294名有护理经验的年轻人。分析确定了四个相互关联的主题塑造了护理离开者的住房路径：(1)突然的，年龄驱动的和不充分计划的护理过渡；(2)非正式支持网络的双重作用，它可以提供必要的短期帮助，但由于其不稳定，往往掩盖了隐藏的无家可归问题；(3)过渡性和正式支助服务有限但有意义的稳定功能，这些服务经常突然终止，使年轻人失去连续性；(4)住房市场的结构性障碍，包括高昂的租金成本、收入不安全以及难以获得负担得起的住房。总的来说，分析表明，无家可归不是作为一个孤立的危机出现的，而是作为一个由制度、关系和结构条件形成的累积轨迹出现的。该审查强调了现有研究中的重大差距，特别是缺乏对造成护理离开者住房不稳定的结构和政策层面机制的详细定性研究和分析。未来的研究应采用以青年为中心的方法，以更好地了解年轻人如何应对长期的不稳定，以及如何解决结构性障碍，以支持从护理中更安全和公平地过渡。

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来源期刊

Children and Youth Services Review Multiple-

CiteScore

6.30

自引率

6.10%

发文量

303

期刊介绍： Children and Youth Services Review is an interdisciplinary forum for critical scholarship regarding service programs for children and youth. The journal will publish full-length articles, current research and policy notes, and book reviews.