Homeless teen mothers: social and psychological aspects

Abstract

Aims This study proposes to investigate the life contexts and experiences of motherhood among homeless adolescents and their relation with the "uncertainty reduction" theory. Subjects and Methods A total of 21 teens, living in eight temporary shelters in the city of São Paulo, were intentionally selected. In-depth, face-to-face semi-structured interviews were subsequently conducted. The study was performed by means of qualitative methodology. Results Six themes emerged in the content analysis with the agreement of judges: "circulation" or domestic instability; incapacity to rely on one's own parents and relatives; the street as a solution; fear of theft of the child; need for support; motherhood as hope and search for identity. Conclusion Motherhood acquires the function of giving meaning to existence and opens a window of opportunity for reorganizing their lives around more stable bonds. The results suggest that the reduction in uncertainty could partly explain the relevant role of motherhood in these teens.

Situating and Constructing Diversity in Semi-Structured Interviews

“…Descriptive/confirmative SSIs have been more recently used to assess the following: the usefulness of a research impact framework to capture the impact of health services and policy research (Kuruvilla, Mays, & Walt, 2007), the relevance of “uncertainty reduction” theory to the experience of homeless teen mothers (Scappaticci & Blay, 2009), the suitability of the disease-specific health-related quality of life instrument for use with patients after myocardial infarction (Roebuck, Furze, & Thompson, 2001), and finally, the potential for the Osteoporotic pain program to increase patient’s insight, skills, and motivation to self help and possibly reduce pain (Jensen & Harder, 2004). …”

Parenting and Homeless: Profiles of Young Adult Mothers and Fathers in Unstable Housing Situations

“…Few studies have described the specific characteristics, risks, and service needs of pregnant and parenting homeless young adults. Prior research on young homeless parents is mainly qualitative, has drawn nearly exclusively from young people residing in shelters, and has been mainly conducted with mothers (Dworsky & Meehan, 2012;Scappaticci & Blay, 2009;Schindler & Coley, 2007;Swick & Williams, 2010). Gaps in existing data on young adult homeless parents include representation of both males and females in a range of housing situations, including living on the streets and doubling up with others.…”

Pregnancy and parenting support for youth experiencing homelessness

“…Parenting YEH faces abandonment, loss of safety, and absence of primary attachment figures (Aparicio et al., 2018). While homeless mothers perceived lower stress with social support from family and co‐parents (Lucke et al., 2021), those with traumatic childhood experiences and no supportive parental relationship doubted their ability to form warm, caring relationships with their children (Scappaticci & Blay, 2009). A larger supportive social network and relationship commitment with their partner was associated with a positive attitude toward pregnancy (Tucker et al., 2012).…”