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Housing Instability Scale (HIS)

The Housing Instability Scale (HIS) is a 7 item measure of housing instability among domestic violence survivors. The scale can be used to assess housing instability in English and Spanish speakers, as well as in urban and rural settings. The HIS has been adapted from the Housing Instability Index by Rollins et al.

Categories

Geographies Tested: United States of America

Populations Included: Female

Age Range: Adolescents, Adults

Items:

1. In the last 6 months, have you had to live somewhere that you did not want to live?

Response Options:
No - 0
Yes - 1

2. Do you expect to stay in your current housing for the next 6 months?*

Response Options:
No/Don't know - 0
Yes - 1

3. In the last 6 months, have you been homeless or had to live with family or friends to avoid homelessness?
4. In the last 6 months, have you had difficulty paying (or were you unable to pay) for housing?
5. In the last 6 months, have you had trouble getting housing?

Response Options:
No - 0
Yes - 1

6. How many times have you moved in the last 6 months?

Response Options:
0-2 moves - 0
3 or more moved - 1

7. How likely is it, do you think, that you will be able to pay for your housing (e.g. rent/mortgage) this month?*

Response Options:
Likely, very likely - 0
Very unlikely, unlikely - 1

*Original response options are reverse coded.

Scoring Procedures

Responses are summed (range 0-7), with higher scores indicating higher housing instability.

Original Citation

Farero, A., Sullivan, C. M., Lopez-Zeron, G., Bowles, R. P., Sprecher, M., Chiaramonte, D., & Engleton, J. (2024). Development and validation of the Housing Instability Scale. Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness, 33(1), 142-151. https://doi.org/10.1080/10530789.2022.2127852


Psychometric Score

Ease of Use Score

Scoring breakdown

Formative Research

Qualitative Research

Existing Literature/Theoretical Framework

Field Expert Input

Cognitive Interviews / Pilot Testing

Reliability

Internal

Test-retest

Interrater

Validity

Content

Face

Criterion (gold-standard)

Construct

KEY

Ease of Use

Readability

Scoring Clarity

Length

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