The Strengths of Young People Who Are Homeless
Publication: Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
12 July 2016
Abstract
Researchers examined how young people who are homeless conceptualize and interact with challenging circumstances, adopting a human agency focus rooted in the constructionist model of resilience. Thirty-five young people who were homeless in Ottawa participated in in-depth interviews and/or focus groups. Participants reflected upon their strategic decision-making and described how they solved problems in the midst of adversity, planned for the future, consciously altered their identities, and balanced the costs of engaging in certain behaviours. A constructionist approach to resilience allowed for insight into behaviour that is often seen as risky or outside social norms.
Résumé
Les chercheurs ont examiné la façon dont les jeunes gens qui sont sans-abri conçoivent et interagissent avec des circonstances difficiles. L’approche adoptée met l’accent sur le facteur humain tout en se basant sur le modèle constructiviste de la résilience. Trente-cinq jeunes gens qui étaient sans-abri à Ottawa ont participé à des entrevues approfondies et/ou groups de discussion. Les participants ont réfléchi sur leur processus de prise de décision stratégique. Ils ont aussi décrit comment ils ont résolu des problèmes en pleine adversité, fait des plans pour l’avenir, consciemment changé leurs identités, et pondéré certains comportements en évaluant leur coûts. Une approche constructiviste de la résilience a permit de comprendre un comportement qui est souvent considéré comme risqué ou en dehors des normes sociales.
Formats available
You can view the full content in the following formats:
References
Bender K., Thompson S. J., McManus H., Lantry J., and Flynn P. M. Capacity for survival: Exploring strengths of homeless street youth Child Youth Care Forum 2007 36 25 -42
Calhoun, L. G., & Tedeschi, R. G. (2006). The foundations of post-traumatic growth: An expanded framework. In L.G. Calhoun & R.G. Tedeschi (Eds.), Handbook of post-traumatic growth: Research and practice. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
Carpenter, D. (1996). Constructivism and social work treatment. In F.J. Turner (Ed.), Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches (pp. 146–167). Oxford: Oxford University Press
Cicchetti, D. (2003). Forward. In S. S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities. New York: Cambridge University Press
Foster K. R. and Spencer D. At risk of what? Possibilities over probabilities in the study of young lives Journal of Youth Studies 2011 14 1 125 -143
Gaetz, S., Donaldson, J., Richter, T., & Gulliver, T. (2013). The state of homelessness in Canada 2013. Toronto: Canadian Homelessness Research Network Press
Giddens A. Comments on the theory of structuration Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour 1983 13 75 -80
Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society. Outline of the theory of structuration. Cambridge: Polity
Hagan, J., & McCarthy, B. (2005). Homeless youth and the perilous passage to adulthood. In W. Osgood, E. M. Foster, C. Flanagan, & G. R. Ruth (Eds.), On your own without a net: The transition to adulthood for vulnerable populations (pp. 178–201). Chicago: University of Chicago Press
Howell A Resilience as enhancement: Governmentality and political economy beyond ‘responsibilisation.’ Politics 2015 35 1 67 -71
Howell A. and Voronka J Introduction: The politics of resilience and recovery in mental health care Studies in Social Justice 2012 6 1 1 -7 Retrieved from https://brock.scholarsportal.info/journals/SSJ/article/view/1065
Kidd S. A. and Davidson L. “You have to adapt because you have no other choice”: The stories of strength and resilience of 208 homeless youth in New York City and Toronto Journal of Community Psychology 2007 35 2 219 -238
Kolar K., Erickson P. G., and Stewart D. Coping strategies of street-involved youth: Exploring contexts of resilience Journal of Youth Studies 2012 15 6 744 -760
Krabbenborg M. A., Boersma S., and Wolf J. R. A strengths based method for homeless youth: Effectiveness and fidelity of Houvast BMC Public Health 2013 13 359 -369
Lentzos F. and Rose N. Governing insecurity: Contingency planning, protection, resilience Economy and Society 2009 38 2 230 -254
Mallett, S., Rosenthal, D., Keys, D., & Averill, R. (2010). Moving out, moving on: Young people’s pathways in and through homelessness. New York: Routledge
Masten A., & Coatsworth, D. (1995). Competence, resilience, and psychopathology. In D. Cicchetti and D. Cohen (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology—Volume 2: Risk, disorder, and adaptation (pp. 715–752). New York: John Wiley & Sons
McCay E., Langley J., Beanlands H., Cooper L, Mudachi N., Harris A., …, and Miner S. Mental health challenges and strengths of street-involved youth: The need for a multidetermined approach Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 2010 12 3 30 -49 Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21086775
Rawana E. and Brownlee K. Making the possible probable: A strength-based assessment and intervention framework for clinical work with parents, children, and adolescents Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 2009 90 3 255 -260
Roebuck, B., Roebuck, M., & Roebuck, J. (2011). From strength to strength: A manual to guide strength-based interventions with young people. Ottawa: Youth Now Canada
Ronel N. and Elisha E. A different perspective: Introducing positive criminology International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 2010 20 10 1 -21
Saleebey, D. (2013). Introduction: Power in the people, in D. Saleebey, (Ed.), The strengths perspective in social work, 6th edition (pp. 1–23). Upper Saddle River: Pearson
Tisseron, S. (2009). La résilience. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France
Tremblay, R. (2005). Disruptive behaviour: Should we foster or prevent resilience? (Chapter 3). In R. Peters, D. Leadbeater, & R. McMahon (Eds.), Resilience in children, families and communities: Linking context to policy and practice (pp. 27–45). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers
Ungar M. A constructionist discourse on resilience: Multiple contexts, multiple realities among at-risk children and youth Youth & Society, 2004a 35 3 341 -365
Ungar, M. (2004b). Nurturing hidden resilience in troubled youth. Toronto: University of Toronto Press
Ungar M. Pathways to resilience among children in child welfare, corrections, mental health and educational settings: Navigation and Negotiation Child and Youth Care Forum 2005 34 6 423 -444
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). (2004). Working Paper No. 12. Geneva: Conference of European Statisticians. Retrieved from http://www.unece.org/fileadmin/DAM/stats/documents/2004/11/census1/wp.12.e.pdf
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
Volume 35 • Number 2 • October 2016
Pages: 43 - 54
History
Version of record online: 12 July 2016
Key Words
Mots-clés
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Other Metrics
Citations
Cite As
Benjamin S. Roebuck and Maryann M. Roebuck. 2016. The Strengths of Young People Who Are Homeless. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health.
35(2): 43-54. https://doi.org/10.7870/cjcmh-2016-032
Export Citations
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.
There are no citations for this item
View Options
View options
Login options
Check if you access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.
Subscribe
Click on the button below to subscribe to Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health
