Living doubled-up: Diverse environments and educational outcomes

Homeless youth face many barriers that limit success in the educational process. Subgroups of homeless youth frequently experience the educational process differently depending upon their residential context. Recent years witness the federal government’s expanding the definition of homelessness to include youth living doubled-up. This residential formation involves multiple families forced to live together as a result of economic crises. Although the largest subgroup of the homeless youth population, they are the least studied. This 7-month multiple case study of 4 adolescents living in Los Angeles uses data gathered from interviews, observations, and document analysis to explore how this residential context shapes educational participation. In particular, the division of labor and presence of a head of household influence how youth participated in school. Findings suggest (a) families have multiple ways of arranging doubled-up residences, and, (b) how the families structure the doubled-up residences influences educational participation