Toward an Operationalization of “Couch-Surfing” Among Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness: A Mixed-Methods Exploration of Measurement and Lived Experience

Background and Purpose: Of the estimated 3.5 million unaccompanied young adults experiencing homelessness (YAEH) in the U.S., most report “couch-surfing,” or cycling through informal and temporary housing arrangements. Relative to other forms of homelessness, couch-surfing is associated with similar or increased risks to young people’s health and well-being. Yet current homelessness policy deprioritizes couch-surfing, excluding couch-surfers from accessing resources due to assumptions regarding their relative safety and stability. Meanwhile, researchers often rely on broad homelessness measures and vague definitions of couch-surfing—and rarely examine couch-surfing as a distinct socioenvironmental context. This study assesses individual- and network-level survey measures of couch-surfing and explores the extent to which these measures align with young people’s own couch-surfing definitions and trajectories.

Methods: A mixed-methods approach was used to explore variations in defining and measuring couch-surfing among YAEH ages 18-25. Survey data were obtained via convenience sampling at Los Angeles and St. Louis drop-in centers between November 2023 and April 2025. Study participants (n=686) completed a computer-assisted, researcher-administered questionnaire featuring individual- and network-level measures of couch-surfing. Chi-square tests and bivariate logistic regressions were used to assess demographic and network differences in responding to these measures. Qualitative data were collected at Los Angeles drop-in centers between June and July 2023 via one-on-one, semi-structured interviews with YAEH reporting at least one couch-surfing experience in the past year (n=25). Content analysis was used to examine couch-surfing trajectories and participant definitions of couch-surfing.

Results: In answering a multiple-response question about places stayed over the past year, 48.7% (n=334) of participants reported temporarily residing at someone else’s home because they did not have a safe or stable alternative. Of 656 participants completing the social network interview, 63.6% (n=417) identified at least one individual who served as a couch-surfing host over the past year. Of these, 59.7% (n=249) also endorsed the first measure, 40.3% (n=168) did not endorse the first measure but identified a host, and 18.0% (n=75) endorsed the first measure but did not name a host. Respondents who only identified a host were significantly more likely to be Latine (uOR=2.08, 95% CI=1.10-2.19), report an emotionally supportive couch-surfing host (uOR=1.50, 95% CI=1.03-2.17), or report a host with whom they experienced conflict (uOR=1.52, 95% CI=1.03-2.24). Content analysis of qualitative interviews characterized couch-surfing trajectories by varying degrees of volatility, social support, and overlap with other forms of homelessness. Participant definitions of couch-surfing emphasized impermanence, social connections, and lack of control.

Conclusions and Implications: Findings highlight discordance between individual- and network-level couch-surfing measures, suggesting that common survey items used in youth homelessness research may undermine the visibility of couch-surfing among YAEH and that network-based measures may be more effective. Qualitative insights underscore couch-surfing as a dynamic survival strategy rooted in complex social relationships and shaped by perceptions of social support. More robust measures of couch-surfing are needed to better understand this highly prevalent form of homelessness, to disentangle its associated risk and protective factors, and to ultimately inform more nuanced policy responses to youth homelessness.