“It's a Struggle but I Can Do It. I'm Doing It for Me and My Kids”: The Psychosocial Characteristics and Life Experiences of At‐Risk Homeless Parents in Transitional Housing

Abstract

Families experiencing homelessness face a number of risks to their psychosocial health and well-being, yet few studies have examined the topic of parenting among homeless families. The purpose of this multimethod, descriptive study was to acquire a better understanding of the psychosocial status and life experiences of homeless parents residing in transitional housing. Quantitative data were collected from 69 parents and primary caregivers living in a transitional housing community, with a cohort of 24 participants also contributing qualitative data. The quantitative results suggest risk associated with depression, parenting stress, and negative parenting practices. The qualitative findings highlight five themes that convey both the challenges faced by homeless parents as well as the resilience they display in spite of such adversity. These results extend current scholarship on homeless families with children and can better inform how couple and family therapists work with this at-risk population.

Childhood Adversity and Development of Self Among Mothers Transitioning From Homelessness to Self-Sufficiency

“…Although the process of selfdifferentiation is individual and the results presented here are closely tied to women's unique individual experiences, the essence of how these experiences shaped women's current experiences of homelessness, parenting, and adult relationships was shared by all participants. This suggests the sense of community found in transitional settings (Holtrop et al, 2013) might be a key resiliency factor for homeless women processing past adversities and working toward self-sufficiency.…”

“…Porter (1995) recommends researchers do more than just meet with participants and ask questions, but actually become immersed in the context in which participants live. Researchers do not necessarily need to become homeless (though that would be an interesting approach), but having a more constant presence during a longer period would more closely embed the researcher into the transitional community (Holtrop et al, 2013) and greatly enhance data collection and interpretation. Particular insight could be gained from research on maternal transience and transitions to self-sufficiency that includes multiple family members and begins with the first experience of homelessness.…”

“…The present approach takes advantage of the unique space and time of transitional housing when families are able to pause between survival strategies and "simply be" (Le Guin, 1975, p. 31) to expand structural models of homelessness into rich descriptions of lived experiences. Recent studies have emphasized the transitional setting as an important context for individual and family resilience (e.g., Holtrop, McNeil, & McWey, 2013; see also Fotheringham, Walsh, & Burrowes, 2014); the present work more specifically focuses on mothers who are homeless and actively transitioning toward independent living while living in a transitional residence with their children. Although homeless families typically include single women and children, understanding of these women's experiences is lacking from the homelessness literature, particularly among mothers residing in transitional housing (Fotheringham et al, 2014).…”

Relationships Between Caregiver Violence Exposure, Caregiver Depression, and Youth Behavioral Health Among Homeless Families

“…Homeless caregivers may have less confidence in their caregiving than low-income parents with housing (Lee et al, 2010). Homeless families and youth may also face particular risks related to parenting stress, parental depression, and negative parenting practices (Holtrop, McNeil, & McWey, 2013). However, many at-risk homeless parents are dedicated to their children, in spite of the numerous stresses that their families face—and homeless families can be resilient (Holtrop et al, 2013).…”

A Time to Reflect on JMFT

“…I said that I wanted to continue JMFT's commitment to the underserved and those in the margins. With this in mind, I am happy to see recent articles related to the treatment of the homeless (Harris‐McKoy, Woods, Brantley, & Farineau, ; Holtrop, McNeil, & McWey, ), those with physical and mental health issues (e.g., Houston‐Barrett & Wilson, ; MacPherson, Leffler, & Fristad, ; Wagner et al., ), those marginalized because of their sexual orientation, race, or other reasons (e.g., Coolhart, Baker, Farmer, Malaney, & Shipman, ; LaSala, ; Maciel & Knudson‐Martin, ; Quirk, Strokoff, Owen, France, & Bergen, ), those at risk for relational violence (Salis, Kliem, & O'Leary, ; Schneider & Brimhall, ; Taylor & Borduin, ), and substance abuse (e.g., Ladd & McCrady, ; Soloski, Kale Monk, & Durtschi, ). Similarly, we continue to publish important articles related to gender, power, culture, class, and their intersection (e.g., Knudson‐Martin et al., ; McDowell, Brown, Cullen, & Duyn, ; McDowell, Melendez‐Rhodes et al., ; Seedall, Holtrop, & Parra‐Cardona, ; Seshadri & Knudson‐Martin, ; Van Parys & Rober, ; Williams, Galick, Knudson‐Martin, & Huenergardt, ; Williams & Knudson‐Martin, ).…”