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Resilience in Youth with Histories of Homelessness

• Sophie Hyman, Tim Aubry, Fran Klodawsky
• Centre for Research on Community Services
• University of Ottawa

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Context of Homelessness in Youth

• Adolescent homelessness is a critical social
  problem
• Spectrum of risks inherent in living on street
• There exists a remarkable subgroup of youth who
  exit homelessness and re-integrate into
  mainstream society
• Resilience as defined by contemporary researchers
  (Masten Powell, 2003)
• Resilience in homeless adolescence is
  characterized by
• Mobilization of intrapersonal, social, and
  community resources, which leads to resilience.
• Resilience, in turn produces positive
  adaptations
• Re-housing, re-enrollment in school, and or
  employment

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Possible Outcomes of Youth in This Study

• In 2002 / 2003, all (N 141) youth were homeless
• In 2004/2005, N 99 (n 49 male, 50 female)
  youth were re-interviewed. The circumstances of
  these youth place them into categories of
  following outcomes
• I) Housed/not housed
• ii) working/not working
• iii) in school/not in school
• The hallmarks of normative development in
  adolescence are secure housing, and engagement in
  school and/or work.
• For youth with histories of homelessness, the
  achievement of this level of functioning will
  indicate resilience from the adversity of their
  homeless experiences.

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Table 1 Housing, education, and vocational
status of youth at follow-up
Male Youth (n 49) Female Youth (n 50)
Housed 67 90
In school 14 42
Working 33 38
Statistically significant differences between
male and female youth, p. lt05, at
lt.01 Female youth were more likely than male
youth to have housing or be in school.
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Table 2 Outcomes based on circumstances at
follow up
Male Youth (n 49) Female Youth (n 50)
Socially excluded 27 4
In transition 37 38
Resilient 37 58
Statistically significant differences between
male and female youth, p. lt05, at lt.01Male
youth were more likely than female youth to be
socially excludedFemale youth were more likely
than male youth to be resilient

• SOCIALLY EXCLUDED Still homeless, not in school
  and/or not working
• IN TRANSITION Housing instability and/or not
  working and/or not in school
• RESILIENT Stable housing, in school and/or
  working

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Summary

• Almost a third of youth (29) in the study
  exhibit at follow-up resilience (developmental
  functioning at the level of their peers)
• A small minority of youth (15) remain socially
  excluded at follow-up, suggesting that they are
  at risk for chronic housing problems
• Although a majority of youth in the study ( 79)
  are housed at follow-up, a minority are
  participating in schooling (29) or working (35)
• Outcomes for male youth are poorer when compared
  to female youth, particularly in terms of housing
  stability and educational engagement.
• How can we understand these youths different
  circumstances as well as the gender differences
  in our results?

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Focus of Dissertation Research

• Goal
• Development of a prediction model of resilience
  in adolescents with a history of homelessness.
• Purpose
• To test how risk and protective factors
  interface, enabling some homeless youth to secure
  housing, which further increases the likelihood
  of re-integration into mainstream society.

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Predictors in Proposed Model

• Social Context
• Adequate perceived social support
• Supportive mentor relationships
• Community Context
• Connectivity to supportive community resources
• Psychological predictors
• Prosocial tendencies
• High approach coping
• Low avoidance coping

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Model To Be Tested In Dissertation
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Implications at this Juncture

• Early descriptive results from the youth sample
  of the panel study on homelessness point strongly
  towards a need for
• Programming specifically targeting male youth
  with who are at risk of chronic homelessness
  (e.g., outreach, transitional housing)
• Programming re-engaging youth to return to
  school, particularly male youth (e.g., adult
  education, alternative school models)
• Programming focused on developing marketable
  work skills for those youth who have left school
  and are working (e.g., vocational training,
  apprenticeships)
• Mental health programming for male youth
  separate from female youth, especially targeting
  high-risk behaviour and suicidality (results from
  adolescent study of at-risk youth)