Table 1 Socio-demographic, mental health, substance use and service use characteristics for Vancouver and Winnipeg Indigenous Female and Male Home Study Participants (N = 439)
From: Gender differences among Indigenous Canadians experiencing homelessness and mental illness
| Variable |
Indigenous Female (N = 169, 38.9%) N (%) |
Indigenous Male (N = 265, 61.1%) N (%) | P value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Need Level | |||
| High Need | 74 (43.8) | 104 (39.2) | 0.348 |
| Moderate Need | 95 (56.2) | 161 (60.8) | |
| Age at Enrollment | |||
| Youth | 25 (14.8) | 28 (10.6) | 0.002 |
| 25–44 Years | 100 (59.2) | 161 (60.8) | |
| 44 Plus Years | 44 (26.0) | 76 (28.7) | |
| Education | |||
| High School or Higher | 42 (25.0) | 67 (25.4) | 0.008 |
| Less than High School | 126 (75.0) | 197 (74.6) | |
| Marital Status | |||
| Single (never married) | 117 (69.2) | 191 (72.6) | 0.030 |
| Married/Partner | 18 (10.7) | 11 (4.2) | |
| Separated/Widow/divorced | 34 (20.1) | 61 (23.2) | |
| Have Children (under 18) | 111 (66.5) | 111 (42.7) | < 0.001 |
| Hospitalized for mental illness over 6 months in past 5 years | 9 (5.4) | 13 (5.0) | 0.870 |
| Hospitalized for mental illness over 2 times in the past 5 years | 44 (26.7) | 62 (23.6) | 0.471 |
| Arrested/Imprisoned/Probation/Community sanction in past 6 months | 57 (33.9) | 111 (41.9) | 0.098 |
| One or more nights in hospital, detox, shelter and jail in last 6 months | 155 (91.7) | 226 (85.3) | 0.046 |
| Length of Homelessness Lifetime | |||
| 1–3 years | 81 (49.7) | 123 (47.9) | 0.714 |
| 3 years plus | 82 (50.3) | 134 (52.1) | |
| Length of homelessness lifetime | |||
| 12 months | 33 (20.2) | 56 (21.8) | 0.833 |
| 13–60 months | 72 (44.2) | 106 (41.2) | |
| 60 months plus | 58 (35.6) | 95 (37.0) | |
| Length of homelessness longest single period | |||
| 12 months | 67 (41.6) | 121 (47.8) | 0.216 |
| 13–60 months | 69 (42.9) | 95 (37.5) | |
| 60 months plus | 25 (15.5) | 37 (14.6) | |
| Age first homeless | |||
| 18 years or less | 50 (29.8) | 78 (29.8) | 0.643 |
| 19–30 years | 54 (32.1) | 86 (32.8) | |
| 31–40 years | 30 (17.9) | 56 (21.4) | |
| Over 40 years | 34 (20.2) | 42 (16.0) | |
| Housing Status | |||
| Absolutely Homeless | 111 (65.7) | 196 (74.0) | 0.064 |
| Precariously Housed | 58 (34.3) | 69 (26.0) | |
| Mental illness & substance use | |||
| Less severe mental illness | 150 (88.8) | 215 (81.1) | 0.034 |
| Multiple mental disorders (≥2) | 126 (74.6) | 160 (60.4) | 0.002 |
| Current PTSD | 98 (58.0) | 114 (43.0) | 0.002 |
| Current suicidality | 160 (94.7) | 216 (81.5) | < 0.001 |
| Current alcohol dependence | 111 (65.7) | 176 (66.4) | 0.875 |
| Current substance dependence | 108 (63.9) | 130 (49.1) | 0.002 |
| Age first alcohol use | |||
| > 14 yrs. | 62 (38.5) | 111 (42.7) | 0.397 |
| < 13 yrs. | 99 (61.5) | 149 (57.3) | |
| Age first drug use | |||
| > 14 yrs. | 73 (45.9) | 124 (49.4) | 0.491 |
| < 13 yrs. | 86 (54.1) | 127 (50.6) | |
| GAIN-SPS score of substance use | |||
| Less severe (0–3) | 86 (55.1) | 158 (63.2) | 0.106 |
| Severe [4, 5] | 70 (44.9) | 92 (36.8) | |
| Physical illness, service utilization and trauma | |||
| Blood borne diseases | 46 (27.5) | 74 (28.2) | 0.875 |
| Two or more physical illness | 159 (94.1) | 225 (84.9) | 0.004 |
| Have a regular medical doctor | 131 (77.5) | 164 (61.9) | 0.001 |
| Place you usually go when you are sick or need advice about your health | 146 (86.4) | 222 (84.4) | 0.572 |
| Needed health care, but did not receive it in past 6 months | 91 (54.5) | 130 (49.8) | 0.344 |
| During past 6 m did anyone take or try to take something from you by force or threat of force? | 78 (47.0) | 97 (37.3) | 0.048 |
| During past 6 m did anyone threaten to hit or attack you, or threaten you with a weapon? | 105 (63.6) | 139 (53.5) | 0.039 |
| During past 6 m has anyone forced you or attempted to force you into any unwanted sexual activity, by threatening you, holding you down or hurting you in some way? | 31 (18.7) | 9 (3.5) | < 0.001 |