Homeless mothers: is there a relationship between coping strategies, mental health and goal achievement?

Life Goals Over Time Among Homeless Adults in Permanent Supportive Housing

Permanent supportive housing (PSH) is a widely-accepted solution to the challenge of chronic homelessness. While housing support and retention, physical health, and healthcare continue to be important for formerly homeless persons in PSH, "higher-order" and humanistic needs such as thriving have received less attention and as a result are less well understood in this population. One important indicator of thriving is the ability to establish and articulate life goals. This study utilizes longitudinal data from 421 formerly homeless adults prior to their move into PSH, and at 3-, 6- and 12-months after move-in (369 respondents completed all four interviews), to examine what life goals are articulated by this population and how those goals change over time. Prior to housing, most respondents articulated housing attainment as their primary life goal, whereas at follow-up interviews health goals, housing relocation, and financial goals became more prevalent. Aspirational goals (e.g., independence, self-improvement, artistic pursuits) were also common, but demonstrated a decrease over time in housing. Relationship goals remained common and consistent over time. Findings indicate that housing is a necessary, but perhaps not sufficient, step for improving thriving among formerly homeless adults. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

Personal, dyadic, and contextual resilience in parents experiencing homelessness

Adopting a developmental psychopathology (DP) perspective, the present study systematically reviewed the quantitative literature on positive functioning and outcomes in parents experiencing homelessness. Studies were identified from PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science using an exhaustive list of key terms. Of 3443 total studies screened, 219 were inspected, 176 were excluded, and 43 were included. Included studies fell into three outcome categories: the ability to function well personally (cope effectively, meet basic family needs, experience reduced psychopathology); dyadically (demonstrate positive parenting practices and promote child adjustment); and contextually (exit episodes of homelessness and avoid shelter re-entry). Results also reflected personal, dyadic, and contextual independent variables associated with each positive outcome category. Many parents experiencing homelessness display positive outcomes, and many factors support positive functioning. Future research should replicate these findings and examine multilevel parental functioning to help bridge the gap between the DP theoretical perspective and the quantitative evidence for parental resilience as a process.

Understanding the Journey Through Homelessness: A Hermeneutic Study of Women Without Children

This study explored the meaning of the experience of homelessness and exiting homelessness among women without children. Convenience and snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 12 women in an urban centre in Canada. Texts resulting from audiotaped interviews, participant observations, and reflective journal entries constituted data for analysis. Gadamerian hermeneutics informed the interpretive method used for analysis. The analysis yielded 5 subthemes that described the journey: (a) loss of self at home: the trigger; (b) non-feeling of “at-homeness”: dissociation; (c) disconnection and aloneness: homelessness; (d) simulating home: transitional shelter living; and (e) finding oneself: hopefulness. Findings suggest that exiting homelessness for women was a journey in search of hope, and reconnection with the self and others. This perspective suggests a new approach for policy and practice.

Mothers with mental illness experiencing homelessness: a critical analysis

The experiences of homeless mothers with mental illness were examined from the critical perspective of feminist intersectionality. The purpose of this study was to unveil experiences of oppression and resistance in the lives of homeless mothers with mental illness, while learning from them what is conducive to their health. A qualitative secondary analysis was done using focus group transcripts from a study examining issues related to diversity and homelessness for psychiatric survivors and a study on mental health and housing. A purposive sample of 7 focus groups comprised of 67 participants was used for this study. Findings revealed three overarching themes: (1) discrimination based on intersecting social identities; (2) being stuck: the cycle of oppression; and (3) we're not giving up: resistance through perseverance. The contextual influences of mothering while homeless with a mental illness were emphasized in the results. The findings illuminate the need for increased on ongoing advocacy at individual and structural levels.

Exposure to war trauma and PTSD among parents and children in the Gaza strip

OBJECTIVE

Exposure to war trauma has been independently associated with posttraumatic stress (PTSD) and other emotional disorders in children and adults. The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between ongoing war traumatic experiences, PTSD and anxiety symptoms in children, accounting for their parents' equivalent mental health responses.

METHODS

The study was conducted in the Gaza Strip, in areas under ongoing shelling and other acts of military violence. The sample included 100 families, with 200 parents and 197 children aged 9-18 years. Parents and children completed measures of experience of traumatic events (Gaza Traumatic Checklist), PTSD (Children's Revised Impact of Events Scale, PTSD Checklist for parents), and anxiety (Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale, and Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale for parents).

RESULTS

Both children and parents reported a high number of experienced traumatic events, and high rates of PTSD and anxiety scores above previously established cut-offs. Among children, trauma exposure was significantly associated with total and subscales PTSD scores, and with anxiety scores. In contrast, trauma exposure was significantly associated with PTSD intrusion symptoms in parents. Both war trauma and parents' emotional responses were significantly associated with children's PTSD and anxiety symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Exposure to war trauma impacts on both parents' and children's mental health, whose emotional responses are inter-related. Both universal and targeted interventions should preferably involve families. These could be provided by non-governmental organizations in the first instance.