Psychological distress among young people who are couchsurfing: an exploratory analysis of correlated factors

Abstract

In this brief report, we explore the relationship between psychological distress and couchsurfing, with attention to the latter’s transitory and cyclic nature. The Kessler scale of psychological distress (K10) was administered as part of a semi-structured interview to 63 young people who had couchsurfed within the past 18 months. A robust regression was used to explore the associations between demographic and couchsurfing factors and cumulative K10 score. Gender, cultural background, age when leaving home, and number of hosts stayed with during the last couchsurfing episode emerged as statistically significant factors. Our study finds that young people who are couchsurfing have much higher levels of psychological distress than their peers in the general population. We suggest, based on these results and others, that homelessness services should reassess how they prioritize and serve young people who are couchsurfing.