Housing stability for disabled parents in the United States: estimates from the American Community Survey

Abstract

Housing stability, including affordability and housing tenure status (renting vs. owning), contributes to parent, child, and family wellbeing. While there are documented disparities related to housing stability for disabled adults, less is known about the housing circumstances of disabled adults who are also parents. Given the adverse impact of housing instability for families and children, this study uses American Community Survey (ACS) data from 2017 to 2021 to examine housing affordability and housing tenure status for disabled parents. Logistic regressions revealed that disabled parents experience roughly 1.5 times the risk of unaffordable housing (RR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.55–1.58, p < 0.001) compared to the referent group of nonparents without disabilities. Parents with disabilities have 1.28 times the likelihood of living in rented homes (95% CI:1.27–1.29, p < 0.001), compared to the referent group. Results also showed that parents with disabilities are more likely to live in unaffordable housing (45.65%) compared to either nonparents with disabilities (41.21%), parents without disabilities (30.22%), or nonparents without disabilities (29.11%). Disparities related to affordability and housing tenure status persisted across disability types and after accounting for multiple covariates, including poverty. These findings suggest the need to promote stable housing for disabled parents.