Homeless Men and Women: Differential Associations Among Substance Abuse, Psychosocial Factors, and Severity of Homelessness

Latent variable multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses assessed gender differences in relationships among drug and alcohol use, measures indicating severity of homelessness, criminal history, prior institutionalization, and mental illness (N = 531 homeless persons; 386 men and 145 women). Severity was indicated by length of time homeless, housing quality, and victimization. Men reported more substance use, a longer time homeless, poorer housing quality, greater criminal involvement, and less likelihood of living with a child. Constrained multiple-group models surfaced 5 significantly different relationships between latent constructs. Men had stronger relationships between mental illness and prior institutionalization, drug use and mental illness, and drug use and victimization, whereas women had stronger relationships between drug use and alcohol use, and criminal involvement and drug use. Service delivery implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.