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Moving home during childhood: is it harmful?

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Dr Francesca Fiori reflects on discussions with representatives from the Scottish Government and third sector organisations on research evidence that children living in private rented accommodation and moving home frequently have lower levels of socio-emotional well-being.

“In October 2021 my research team held a discussion on the issues of children’s housing and their experience of moving home, and how this relates to child well-being and cognitive development.

It was based on my recent policy briefing ‘Moving home during childhood: is it harmful?’ which presented findings from my research project on the same topic. It was funded by the Economic and Social Research Council as part of the Understanding Inequalities project, and by the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

We were delighted to be joined by participants from the Scottish Government and organisations Parenting Across Scotland, Save the Children and Shelter Scotland. Professor Cristina Iannelli, Chair of Education and Social Stratification at the University of Edinburgh, chaired the discussion.

Who moves home, and why?

Many families move home when they have young children. According to data from Growing Up in Scotland, on which my study is based, 54.5% of children moved at least once by age 10. Most parents cite housing or neighbourhood improvements as the main reason behind their move: a need for a larger house; a desire to raise children in safer and more family-friendly areas; or a preference for owned rather than rented accommodation. Other parents report that their moves were the consequence of adverse circumstances, such as relationship breakups, evictions, or financial hardship.

Although only a minority of parents reported negative reasons for a move, I suggested that there might be a tendency to under-report negative circumstances that triggered a move. Reflecting on their work with children and families experiencing residential mobility but also temporary housing and homelessness, the participants from third sector organisations agreed with this view. As a matter of fact, data reveal a clear social patterning in the likelihood of moving home during childhood, with children from more disadvantaged backgrounds (such as those born in lone-parent families, or from low-educated parents or living in rented accommodation) more likely to move, and to move more than once.

Moving home: is it (always) harmful?

My research highlighted that children who moved home during childhood report more emotional and conduct problems than children who stayed in the same residence. The difference is particularly pronounced between children who did not move and children who moved twice or more.

Children who moved home also have lower vocabulary skills at age five, but not at age 10. I found this surprising given that moving home often implies a change of school which could impact on children’s learning. One participant suggested that a dynamic environment could be beneficial for language acquisition at this age. Children who move home and change school will meet more people and engage in different contexts, stretching their comfort zones which could in turn promote vocabulary learning. Professor Iannelli suggested that school might act as an equaliser at this age, sharing some preliminary findings from her research on the enabling factors improving the cognitive outcomes of children from disadvantaged social backgrounds.

Children from disadvantaged family backgrounds

Moving home, and doing so repeatedly, occurs more frequently to children from disadvantaged families. Thinking about the social, emotional and cognitive difficulties we observe in children who have moved, we discussed to what extent these difficulties happen because of the move itself or rather because of the consequence of a range of factors and circumstances prior to the move, such as financial difficulties or parental separation. My research showed that parental socioeconomic status, unemployment and relationship break-up do indeed explain a large part of the differences between movers and non-movers.

From a policy and practice perspective, participants manifested their desire to know more about housing insecurity among low-income families. For our understanding of the impact of moving home on children and their families, they argued that it is crucial that we differentiate between residential mobility as an active choice and residential mobility as an unintended event on which most of these families exert no power.

Given the impact of residential instability on young children’s lives, it would also be beneficial to understand which other areas of their lives could be improved and stabilised to increase their ability to overcome the challenges associated with moving home.

Growing up in private rented accommodation

Lastly, findings from the project emphasised the importance of housing tenure: children who are born in rented accommodation are not only more likely to move during childhood, but also to report lower socio-emotional well-being and cognitive scores. Furthermore, repeated moves within the rental sector have a detrimental effect on children, over and above the effect of these children’s social and family background.

All participants shared their concerns regarding the increasing proportion of children being born and growing up in the private rental sector. This, they reflected, is a consequence of a dramatic change in the characteristics of tenants in the private sector over the last 20 years: from young professionals valuing and choosing the benefits of flexible tenure, to families with young children increasingly having no other choice due to expensive house prices and lack of social housing alternatives.

Improving housing choice for families in Scotland

Scotland has devolved powers on housing and recognises the role it plays in determining quality of life. The country has undertaken a different course to other UK nations on housing affordability, homelessness, security of tenure and child poverty. The findings we shared, and the experiences of the third sector practitioners that joined the discussion, suggest, however, that more remains to be done to ensure that every family has access to affordable, secure and highquality housing. The next Housing Bill is an opportunity to take forward further reforms in the rented sector and increase the rights of tenants; and the Housing to 2040 strategy is the occasion to develop a long-term strategy to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the whole rented sector, offering choice to meet people’s needs.”

With thanks to Jacqui Evans for her assistance on the project and in writing this meeting summary as part of the St Andrews Undergraduate Research Assistance Scheme.