Gender, coping strategies, homelessness stressors, and income generation among homeless young adults in three cities

Ferguson, Kristin M.; Bender, Kimberly; Thompson, Sanna J.

doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.028

Cited by 58 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The finding that males were more likely to initiate drug dealing aligns with previous research on gender-based differences in drug dealing (10,45). There are several potential explanations for this observation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Initiation of drug dealing among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth

Hepburn

Barker

Nguyen

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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Background Street-involved youth who use drugs may have limited income-generation options and are known to commonly become immersed in illicit drug markets to generate funds. However, little attention has been given to factors that may drive drug dealing initiation among this vulnerable population. Objectives This longitudinal study examines drug dealing initiation among street-involved youth. Methods Data were derived from the At-Risk Youth Study from September 2005 to November 2014; a prospective cohort of 194 street-involved youth who use drugs aged 14 - 26, in Vancouver, Canada. Extended Cox model was used to identify factors independently associated with time to first drug dealing. Results Among street-involved youth who had never dealt drugs at baseline, 56 (29%) individuals initiated drug dealing during the study period for an incidence density of 13.0 per 100 person-years (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 9.9-17.2). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, male gender (Adjusted Hazard Ratio [AHR] = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.06-3.42), homelessness (AHR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.05-3.35), crystal methamphetamine use (AHR = 2.48, 95% CI: 1.47-4.20), and crack cocaine use (AHR = 2.35, 95% CI: 1.38-4.00) were positively and independently associated with initiating drug dealing. Conclusion Homelessness and stimulant drug use were key risk factors for drug dealing initiation among street-involved youth. Findings indicate that evidence-based and innovative interventions, including youth-centric supportive housing, low threshold employment programs, and stimulant addiction treatment should be implemented and evaluated as strategies to help prevent this vulnerable population from engaging in risky illegal income generation practices.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Initiation of drug dealing among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth

Hepburn

Barker

Nguyen

et al. 2016

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse

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show abstract

“…Youth with markers of higher intensity addiction, such as binge drug use, injection drug use, and drug overdose were all more likely to engage in risky income generating activities, which aligns with recent research findings that homeless youth with a substance use disorder were more likely to engage in illegal economic activity (Ferguson, Bender, & Thompson, 2015). Reducing the intensity of these youths’ substance use may be an important opportunity to address engagement in risky income generation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

High prevalence of risky income generation among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting

Cheng

Small

Nguyen

et al. 2016

International Journal of Drug Policy

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Background Previous research has found a range of barriers to mainstream employment among street-involved youth; however, less is known about the characteristics of street-involved youth who engage in risky income generation and the potential role of substance use in perpetuating engagement in these activities. Methods Data were collected between 2005 and 2012 from the At-Risk Youth Study (ARYS), which is a prospective cohort study of street-involved youth aged 14-26 in Vancouver, Canada. Generalized estimating equations were used to identify factors associated with risky quasi-legal and illegal income generation. Participants also reported their willingness to give up these sources of income if they were not using drugs. Results Among 1,008 participants, 826 (82%) reported engaging in risky income generation activities during the study period. Factors associated with risky income generation included: homelessness, binge drug use, injection drug use, crack use, crystal methamphetamine, overdose, interactions with police, and experiencing violence; regular employment was negatively associated with this outcome (all p<0.05). Among those who reported risky income generation, 440 (53%) were willing to give up these income sources if they were not using drugs. Conclusion Risky income generation was alarmingly prevalent in our sample, and associated with higher intensity drug use and other markers of vulnerability. The majority of participants (53%) reported willingness to give up their risky income sources if they were not using drugs; however, a substantial proportion of youth (47%) indicated that they would continue to engage in risk income generation regardless of their substance use suggesting that both substance use and economic insecurity likely perpetuate risky income generation among our sample. Findings highlight opportunities to reduce risky income generation by addressing problematic substance use through better access and engagement with evidence-based addiction treatment, and exploring, monitoring and evaluating innovative interventions to improve the overall economic security of street-involved youth.

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“…Indeed, there were significant associations between self-reported executive functions, knowledge of BrainWise thinking skills, and coping self-efficacy, demonstrating the important links between these three measured domains. Our findings that coping self-efficacy improved in the BrainWise group alone represent a unique contribution to a small literature on coping in homeless adults (e.g., Ferguson et al, 2015) which generally does not focus on coping self-efficacy. Surprisingly, the results for problem solving, as measured by the WPSRS, were disappointing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Homeless Men Living in Transitional Housing: The BrainWise Program and Improvements in Executive Functions and Coping Self-Efficacy

et al. 2018

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We describe an innovative approach to teaching homeless men the critical thinking skills underlying adaptive decision making and self-regulation needed to bolster resilience in the face of multiple and complex personal challenges. Single men living in a transitional housing facility for the homeless were taught the BrainWise curriculum (n = 210) along with other educational, career, and life skills programs, and tested 4 months later. This group was compared with a smaller control group (n = 61) of men from the same and similar facilities. Outcomes were measured through self-reports of executive functions (Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function [BRIEF]), problem solving (Wasik Problem Solving Rating Scale [WPSRS]), coping (Coping Self-Efficacy [CSE]), and knowledge of the thinking skills taught through BrainWise (BrainWise Knowledge Survey [BKS]). All measures showed adequate internal consistency reliability and less strong, but significant, test-retest stability. As expected, self-reported skills in executive function, coping self-efficacy, problem solving, and BrainWise knowledge covaried in predictable ways. The attrition between the pretest and posttest was not predicted by any of the major outcome measures. The sample of 108 men in the Treatment Group who were still in the program 4 months later exhibited significant improvements on all BRIEF composites and subscales, CSE, and the BKS, but not on the WPSRS. In contrast, the remaining 37 Control Group men showed many fewer improvements in the BRIEF scores and a decrease in the WPSRS score. The results suggest the efficacy of BrainWise and measurement of these skills in the vulnerable population of homeless individuals; however, challenges of this type of research and limitations of this study are discussed.

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Gender, coping strategies, homelessness stressors, and income generation among homeless young adults in three cities

Cited by 58 publications

References 26 publications

Initiation of drug dealing among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth

Initiation of drug dealing among a prospective cohort of street-involved youth

High prevalence of risky income generation among street-involved youth in a Canadian setting

Homeless Men Living in Transitional Housing: The BrainWise Program and Improvements in Executive Functions and Coping Self-Efficacy

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