Explaining Shelter Resistance: Housing Preferences of Unsheltered Adults

Last registered on August 13, 2025
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Explaining Shelter Resistance: Housing Preferences of Unsheltered Adults
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0016308
Initial registration date
June 30, 2025

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
July 03, 2025, 2:52 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
August 13, 2025, 1:36 PM EDT

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

Country
United States of America
Region
California

Primary Investigator

Name
Trinity Douglass
Affiliation
University of Tennessee
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Stephanie Pierce
PI Affiliation
University of Tennessee
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PI Name
Jamie McCasland
PI Affiliation
Vancouver School of Economics
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PI Name
Amy Weiss
PI Affiliation
Saint Francis Challenge
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Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2025-06-30
End date
2025-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Other, Welfare
Additional Keywords
Housing
JEL code(s)
I15, R21, C93
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
In California, an estimated 120,000 individuals experience unsheltered homelessness (de Sousa et al., 2023). While homeless service providers often cite common shelter attributes as critical factors influencing shelter use, there is limited quantitative evidence supporting these claims. This study employs a conjoint choice experiment to identify the shelter preferences of unhoused individuals. Additionally, we collect survey data from individuals experiencing homelessness in the San Francisco area to examine how these preferences vary by baseline characteristics. Our findings aim to provide a clearer understanding of the decision-making processes surrounding shelter use and to identify key barriers to shelter uptake. These insights have the potential to inform more effective and responsive homeless services and housing policies.

De Sousa, Tanya, et al. The 2023 Annual Homelessness Assessment Report (AHAR) to Congress. DC: United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/2023-ahar-part-1.Pdf
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Douglass, Trinity et al. 2025. "Explaining Shelter Resistance: Housing Preferences of Unsheltered Adults." AEA RCT Registry. August 13. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.16308-2.0
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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This study uses a conjoint choice experiment to determine how individuals who are unhoused in the greater San Francisco Bay Area value attributes of hypothetical shelter options. We present individuals a repeated choice of two hypothetical shelter options where the levels of the attributes are randomly presented to individuals. For each of these questions individuals are then asked if they would prefer this option to where they stayed the previous night.
Intervention (Hidden)
In the conjoint analysis we estimate how respondents value the attributes of permanency, privacy, services, transit, proximity to current location, substance use, safety, cleanliness, governance, partners, pets, and curfew, which have been previously identified by service providers as important to sheltering decisions of those unhoused.
Intervention Start Date
2025-06-30
Intervention End Date
2025-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The main outcomes of interest are the relative values individuals hold for each of the shelter attributes.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The experiment contains a series of survey questions and a conjoint choice experiment. The survey questions gather descriptive information about individuals’ history of homelessness, as well as gathers information about drug usage and health usage. We also collect contact information for future possible research.
In the conjoint analysis individuals are presented with repeated questions that have two steps. The first is choosing between two hypothetical housing options, the second step is answering whether they prefer the hypothetical option they selected to where they stayed last night. Lastly, we validate these preferences by having individuals rank the attributes that they are presented in the conjoint analysis. This helps to ensure consistency in the preferences that are stated through the conjoint experiment.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
In the conjoint analysis there are two sources of randomization. The first is the order in which the attributes are presented, this is randomized at the individual level. The order will remain the same amongst all questions within a block containing a particular set of attributes. The second set of randomizations is to determine which level of attribute is presented for each option within a question. This randomization occurs at the attribute level, where a randomly drawn “level” of that attribute is selected with equal probability across all levels. We employ a pure randomization method for both sources of randomization, with all levels of attributes being presented with equal probability. This randomization method is computerized and generated through the survey software Qualtrics.
Randomization Unit
Randomization occurs both at the individual level as well as the attribute level, this is further described in the Randomization Method.
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
500-800 people
Sample size: planned number of observations
500-800 people
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
500-800 people there are no identifiable treated and control groups, all individuals receive the same sources of randomized variation.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
UTK IRB
IRB Approval Date
2025-06-27
IRB Approval Number
25-08636-XP
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
No
Data Collection Complete
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials