The purpose of this study is to make an indepth investigation into the psychosocial trauma of the homeless. During the past 2 years, the number of the homeless in Korea has dramatically increased. Thus interest in and concern about homelessness has in ...
The purpose of this study is to make an indepth investigation into the psychosocial trauma of the homeless. During the past 2 years, the number of the homeless in Korea has dramatically increased. Thus interest in and concern about homelessness has increased among professionals, policy makers and general public. However few scientific studies on the homeless' psychosocial characteristics are founded in Korea.
A review of literature reveals that the homeless' psychosocial characteristics may be risk factors for homelessness. However, little attention has been given to the possibility that homelessness itself may be a risk factor for psychosocial trauma. Hence, this study intends to the investigation of relationships among homeless duration, psychosocial trauma, and the exit from the homeless shelter.
This study poses the following two research questions : (1) What is the pattern of the psychosocial trauma of the homeless according to homeless duration? (2) What effects does the psychosocial trauma of the homeless have on the exit from the shelter?
As the results of a literature review, social disaffiliation and learned helplessness were identified as key theoretical concepts of the homeless' psychosocial trauma. The homeless, who perceived to receive small support from others, who had small social network, whose network was composed primarily of the homeless, tended to be socially disaffiliated. The homeless who showed low level of self-efficacy, external locus of control, high level of depression, alcoholism, high level of acculturation to homeless life condition were considered to present serious learned helplessness.
For this study, A survey research was conducted using self-reported questionnaire concerning homeless duration and the psychosocial trauma. Survey data were collected from 355 sheltered homeless people in Seoul. The sample was 10% of the homeless residents at homeless shelters in Seoul. Respondent's exit time and exit type from the shelter were investigated through interview with staff of the shelter as of April of 2000. Multiple regression analysis and event-history analysis(Cox regression) were employed in order to analyze data. Major findings of this study are as follows :
First, the longer homeless career, the more disaffiliative to mainstream society. The homeless with longer homeless career showed lower level of perceived social support, smaller size of social network, higher ratio of the homeless in social network. Homelessness produced a cognition of isolation or distrust as well as actual disruption of social bonds. Under the homeless condition, the homeless' social relationship with others who are not homeless was seriously restricted. These tendencies resulted in social disaffiliation and process of increasing detachment from transitional social role and ways of behavior.
Second, the longer homeless career, the more serious the homeless' psychological disfunction related to learned helplessness. That is, the homeless who had longer homeless career showed lower self-efficacy, more external locus of control, more symptoms of depression and alcoholism, and more acculturation to homeless life condition. Particularly, this psychological disfunction related to learned helplessness was influenced much more by street homeless career than by overall homeless career. This means the life condition in street is more dangerous factor to traumatic psychological symptom than the one in the shelter.
Third, social disaffiliation had a salient effect on the exit from the shelter. The homeless seriously disaffiliated to the mainstream society had lower likelihood of the positive exit from the shelter and higher likelihood of the negative exit from the shelter. But, in social disaffiliation factors, factors influencing positive exit and factors influencing negative exit were founded to be different. The quantity characteristics of social support including perceived social support and social network had a significant effect on the acceleration of positive exit from the shelter but not a significant effect on the restraint from negative exit. However, the lower ratio of the homeless in the social network had a significant effect on the restraint from negative exit but not a significant effect on the acceleration of positive exit.
Fourth, learned helplessness had a salient effect on the exit from the shelter. The homeless who showed serious disfunctional symptoms related to learned helplessness had lower likelihood to the positive exit from the shelter and higher likelihood to the negative exit from the shelter. In the learned helplessness factors, factors influencing positive exit and factors influencing negative exit were founded to be different. The high level of self-efficacy, and low level of depression had a significant effect on the acceleration of positive exit from the shelter but did not have a significant effect on the restraint from negative exit. However, the low level of alcoholism had a significant effect on the restraint from negative exit but did not have a significant effect on the acceleration of positive exit. Only locus of control factor had a significant effect on the both types of exit. External locus of control had a significant effect on the acceleration of negative exit, while internal locus of control had a significant effect on the acceleration of positive exit.
In conclusion, homelessness may be a riskful event that causes or deepens psychosocial trauma of the homeless. The homeless' psychosocial trauma has a key role on how the homeless exits from the shelter. The homeless whose psychosocial trauma is serious, would be likely to exit negatively from the shelter and go to street. But the homeless whose psychosocial trauma is relatively not serious, would be likely to exit positively from the shelter and return to the normal society. Especially, trauma factors influencing positive exit are distinguished from the factors influencing negative exit from the shelter. Factors including perceived social support, size of social network, self-efficacy, the tendency of internal locus of control, and less serious symptom of depression are relative to the positive exit from the shelter. On the other hand, factors including the ratio of the homeless in social network, the tendency of external locus of control, and alcoholism are relative to the negative exit from the shelter.
These findings have some theoretical and practical implications for social work practice in homeless shelters. The homeless' psychosocial trauma is a critical barrier for them to return to normal social life. So shelters for the homeless have to provide not only food, clothing and bed, but also professional social work intervention to overcome psychosocial trauma related to homelessness. Social workers in the homeless shelter have to mitigate or even prevent the development or exacerbation of psychosocial trauma such as social disaffiliation and learned helplessness. To cope with the homeless' social disaffiliation, we need to attempt to strengthen social support and network except from the homeless. To cope with the homeless' learned helplessness, we need to attempt social work practice to enhance self-efficacy, internal locus of control and empowerment. But the current condition of homeless shelters in Korea is very insufficient for professional social work practice. Therefore, it is critically important to make proper condition for professional psychosocial interventions.