Table 2 Baseline characteristics for 561 vulnerably housed participants across 3 Canadian cities who did and did not experience homelessness during the 3-year follow-up period

Age Group

0.0226

  < 30 years

63 (11.2)

31 (11.5)

32 (11.0)

 30–39 years

137 (24.4)

77 (28.6)

60 (20.6)

 40–49 years

221 (39.4)

108 (40.2)

113 (38.7)

 ≥50 years

140 (25)

53 (19.7)

87 (29.8)

Mean age (SD)

42.6 (9.8)

41.3 (9.2)

43.8 (10.2)

0.0033

Gender

0.0527

 Male

391 (69.7)

65 (24.2)

97 (33.2)

 Female

162 (28.9)

200 (74.4)

191 (65.4)

 Transgendered

8 (1.4)

4 (1.5)

4 (1.4)

Ethnicity

0.7361

 White

344 (63.4)

167 (64.5)

177 (62.3)

 Black/African-Canadian

36 (6.6)

14 (5.4)

22 (7.8)

 First Nations/Aboriginal

122 (22.5)

59 (22.8)

63 (22.2)

 Mixed/other

41 (7.6)

19 (7.3)

22 (7.8)

Born in Canada

496 (89.4)

246 (92.5)

250 (86.5)

0.0225

Highest level of education

0.0009

 Some high school

279 (50.4)

119 (44.7)

160 (55.6)

 Completed high school/equivalent

121 (21.8)

76 (28.6)

45 (15.6)

 Some post-secondary or higher

154 (27.8)

71 (26.7)

83 (28.8)

Partnered

134 (24.3)

64 (24.2)

70 (24.4)

0.9478

Employed in past 12 months

213 (38.0)

114 (42.4)

99 (34.0)

0.0418

Monthly income, median (IQR)

900 (600–1320)

920.0 (630–1540)

889 (586–1200)

0.0906

Percent of income spent on rent, median (IQR)

41.4 (25.0–62.0)

41.0 (22.5–62.3)

41.7 (27.3–60.9)

0.4403

Chronic health conditions

0.0609

 0

55 (9.8)

32 (11.9)

23 (7.9)

 1

106 (18.9)

52 (19.3)

54 (18.5)

 2

97 (17.3)

54 (20.1)

43 (14.7)

 ≥3

303 (54)

131 (48.7)

172 (58.9)

History of a mental health diagnosis

303 (54.9)

153 (57.3)

150 (52.6)

0.2703

History of traumatic brain injury

358 (64)

169 (62.8)

189 (65.2)

0.5634

SF-12 PCS, mean (SD)

43.6 (10.8)

44.3 (11.2)

43.0 (10.4)

0.1507

SF-12 MCS, mean (SD)

39.9 (13.0)

40.3 (12.4)

39.6 (13.6)

0.5231

Pregnancy in past 12 months

12 (7.5)

6 (9.2)

6 (6.3)

0.4798

Currently smoking

0.0002

 Daily

451 (80.8)

231 (86.2)

220 (75.9)

 Occasionally

46 (8.2)

23 (8.6)

23 (7.9)

 Not at all

61 (10.9)

14 (5.2)

47 (16.2)

Positive AUDIT screen

222 (39.7)

119 (44.2)

103 (35.5)

0.0353

AUDIT risk

0.1388

 Low

337 (60.3)

150 (55.8)

187 (64.5)

 Hazardous

88 (15.7)

44 (16.4)

44 (15.2)

 Harmful

31 (5.6)

16 (6.0)

15 (5.2)

 High

103 (18.4)

59 (21.9)

44 (15.2)

Positive DAST screen

322 (57.6)

169 (62.8)

153 (52.8)

0.0161

DAST risk

0.0994

 No drug use in past 12 months

136 (24.3)

57 (21.2)

79 (27.2)

 Low

101 (18.1)

43 (16.0)

58 (20.0)

 Moderate

141 (25.2)

68 (25.3)

73 (25.2)

 Substantial

134 (24)

76 (28.3)

58 (20.0)

 Severe

47 (8.4)

25 (9.3)

22 (7.6)

Arrests and/or incarceration in past 12 months

190 (34)

108 (40.3)

82 (28.2)

0.0025

Physical assault victim in past 12 months

206 (37)

99 (37.1)

107 (36.9)

0.9645

Sexual assault victim in past 12 months

46 (8.3)

26 (9.7)

20 (6.9)

0.2335

Age at first homelessness, median (IQR)

24 (16–38)

22.0 (16–36)

25 (16–40)

0.1910

Lifetime years of homelessness, median (IQR)

3.2 (1.0–6.7)

3.0 (1.0–6.7)

3.3 (1.0–6.7)

0.6692

Own place

511 (95.7)

240 (94.5)

271 (96.8)

0.1915

Subsidized housing

213 (40.8)

91 (36.6)

122 (44.7)

0.0587

Residence Type

0.2207

 Own house, apartment

180 (32.1)

89 (33.1)

91 (31.2)

 Stay with friends and/or relatives

13 (2.3)

8 (3.0)

5 (1.7)

 Rooming house/SRO

357 (63.6)

164 (61.0)

193 (66.1)

 Institution/Other

11 (2.0)

8 (3.0)

3 (1.0)

Housing quality, mean (SD)

27.53 (8.2)

27.4 (8.2)

27.7 (8.2)

0.6849

Social support network size

0.3289

 0

95 (17.3)

45 (17.0)

50 (17.5)

 1

61 (11.1)

23 (8.7)

38 (13.3)

 2–3

104 (18.9)

50 (18.9)

54 (19.0)

 ≥4

290 (52.7)

147 (55.5)

143 (50.2)