homeless men in london: relationship contexts and
TRANSCRIPT
Homeless men in London: Relationship contexts and resilient
vulnerability
Stephanie E. Armes, M.S., James R. Muruthi, PhD, William H. Milroy, PhD, Jay A Mancini, PhDPresented at the National Council on Family Relations Conference, November 2017
Outline
Background Contextual Model of Family Stress Methods Findings Discussion Connecting Education and Enrichment
Understanding homelessness
Individual factors: Early adversity, poverty, illness, family instability (Frazel et al., 2014;
Koegel et al., 1995)
Structural factors: Residential instability, unstable employment opportunities
(Frazel et al., 2014; Fothergill et al., 2012)
British veterans: do well over time (Iversen et al., 2005)
Difficulties adjusting: mental health and unemployment
Contextual Model of Family Stress
Contexts(Boss, Bryant, & Mancini, 2017)
Internal: Structural, psychological, philosophical External: Cultural, historical, economic, development,
heredity
ABC-X model of family stress (Hill, 1949; Patterson, 2002)
Loss (Boss, Bryant, & Mancini, 2017)
Normative and nonnormative
Methods
Semi-structured interviews with veterans who are homeless, residing in East London hostel (N = 37) Age range: 21-63 (M= 42 years) Time living on streets (before hostel): 3 months Average time spent at hostel: 10 months
Recruited through flyers posted in hostel Interview duration: 20-30 minutes Open coding, thematic coding (Saldana, 2015)
Interview questions
Focused on: Past experiences of family adversity Present experiences of homelessness Current social connections with family and friends
Example questions: What do you remember about your child and teen years? Who of your family and friends are you close to now?
Vulnerability and Resilience
Vulnerabilities
Early life adversity Adversity in adulthood Loss of family, work,
relationships, & the military Mental/physical health
difficulties Alcohol use
Resilience
Positive outlook Perseverance Looking toward the future Formal systems support Informal support networks
(family and friends
Vulnerabilities (risk factors)
Early life adversity
“I basically had to grow up really quick,
you know…”
“Yeah, always hitting me mother...”
Loss
“And then I moved up with me mum and things
didn't work out there …And then I was back on the streets again.”
“I found a couple of temporary jobs, but
didn't cope with them very well, and I had a sort of depression …”
Mental/physical health difficulties
“There’s lots of issues to do with my illness as
well that they just don’t like.”
“…the schizophreniacomes with associated
problems…being homeless.”
Resilience (protective factors)
Perseverance
“Perseverance, not giving up and always a die-hard spirit, fighting…whatever the situation you have to
still keep pushing.”
“I tend to be quite a positive guy…if I do feel
like I'm on a bit of a downer, I just get busy…”
Formal systems support
“…being here is a motivational factor in
itself…I'm actually in the environment I want to be
in.”
“…I'll probably say all the staff. If it weren't for them,
I wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be sorting myself
out.”
Informal support networks
“Right now the most important person in my life
is my wife.”
“I like to interact with certain people because they are true
friends…I can talk to him about anything…and I know it
all right.”
Discussion and Conclusion
Importance of strengths-based lens, focus on resilience Structure environments so that barriers are lowered (Ungar,
2012)
Focus on providing relational interactions Tailoring interventions to provide structural, and
relational, supports.
Selected References
Boss, P., Bryant, C. M., & Mancini, J. A. (2017). Family stress management: A contextual approach (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fothergill, K. E., Doherty, E. E., Robertson, J. A., & Ensminger, M. E. (2012). A prospective study of childhood and adolescent antecedents of homelessness among a community population of African Americans. Journal of Urban Health, 89, 432-46.
Frazel, S., Geddes, G. R., & Kushel, M. (2014). The health of homeless people in high-income countries: Descriptive epidemiology, health consequences, and clinical and policy recommendations. Lancet, 384, 1529-1540.
Hill, R. (1949). Families under stress: Adjustment to the crises of war separation and reunion. NY: Harper.
Iversen, A., Nikolaou, V., Greenbert, N., Unwin, C., Hull, L….& Wessely, S. (2005). What happens to British veterans when they leave the armed forces? European Journal of Public Health, 15, 175-184.
Koegel, P., Melamid, E., & Burnam, M. A. (1995). Childhood risk factors for homelessness among homeless adults. American Journal of Public Health,85(12), 1642-1649.
