The revolving door to homelessness. The influence of health, alcohol consumption and stressful life events on the number of episodes of homelessness.

Abstract

Objectives.- To analyse the impact of different variables on repeated episodes of homelessness. Method.- The study was conducted based on data obtained from a representative sample of homeless people in Madrid (Spain) (n = 188). Results.- Suffering from a serious or chronic illness has an effect on the revolving door to homelessness, which is mediated by a highly negative subjective perception of the individual's own health, which is in turn mediated by suffering from a disability. Excessive alcohol consumption has an effect on the revolving door to homelessness, mediated by access to treatment for problems caused by alcohol consumption. Suffering from a serious or chronic illness correlates with having problems caused by excessive alcohol consumption. Experiencing multiple stressful life events has a direct effect on the revolving door to homelessness. Conclusions.- To prevent the revolving door to homelessness, it is necessary to remove the barriers that hinder access to normal health resources which are experienced by people suffering from social exclusion, while implementing ongoing support programmes for homeless people or those at risk of homelessness, which primarily deal with health issues.

The Particularly Vulnerable Situation of Women Living Homeless in Madrid (Spain)

“…However, contrary to the observations by other authors (Christensen & Vinther, 2005), the phenomenon of the "revolving door to homelessness" seems to affect women to a greater extent in Madrid. Many circumstances may lead individuals to suffer from repeated episodes of homelessness after gaining access to independent housing, although issues related to health, excessive alcohol consumption and experiencing stressful life events appear to be particularly influential (Aubry, Klodawsky, & Coulombe, 2012; Caton et al, 2005; Dworsky, Napolitano, & Courtney, 2013; Greenberg & Rosenheck, 2010; Kim, Kertesz, Horton, Tibbetts, & Samet, 2006; Muñoz et al, 2004; Parker, 2010, Roca et al, 2019). There are various explanations for homeless women in Madrid becoming homeless on more occasions than men.…”

“…There are various explanations for homeless women in Madrid becoming homeless on more occasions than men. According to the model proposed by Roca et al (2019), suffering from serious or chronic illness (observed to a greater extent among women) has a negative effect on the "revolving door to homelessness," mediated by a negative perception of one’s own health, which is in turn mediated by suffering from disability. Homeless women with a serious illness and/or a disability may have a limited ability to function, which leads to increased care needs and greater dependence on others (Parker, 2010).…”

“…Various authors (Christensen & Vinther, 2005; Marsapt, 2000; North & Smith, 1993; Piliavin, Wright, Mare, & Westerfelt, 1996; Zlotnick, Robertson, & Lahiff, 1999) have pointed out that periods of homelessness are longer for men than women, while Christensen and Vinther (2005) report that men experience considerably more episodes of homelessness than women. In Madrid, 28% of the homeless people had been homeless between two and five times, and 14% more than five times (Roca, Panadero, Rodríguez, Martín, & Vázquez, 2019). Unfortunately, suffering from multiple episodes of homelessness after having gained access to independent housing (the revolving door to homelessness) is an issue that is rarely addressed in the scientific literature (Ringwalt, Greene, Robertson, & McPheeters, 1998), especially as regards homeless women.…”

“…poor education, difficult access to the labour market, state of health, excessive consumption of psychoactive substances, poor social support, etc.) may be vulnerability factors that potentially lead to them becoming and remaining homeless, and have different effects according to gender (Roca et al, 2019). In relation to these issues, various studies carried out outside Spain show that compared to homeless men, homeless women have a higher level of education (e.g.…”

Differences in stressful life events between men and women experiencing homelessness

“…SLEs are defined as experiences that play a key role in people's lives and that involve significant life changes. According to different studies, experiencing severe and multiple SLEs is a vulnerability factor for becoming homeless (Toro & Oko-Riebau, 2015;Zugazaga, 2004), but at the same time, SLEs influence homelessness chronification by increasing the "revolving door to homelessness" (i.e., the return to homelessness after access to independent housing; Roca et al, 2019).…”