Unraveling the Social Construction of Homelessness

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2168283
AutoresCourtney Cronley (0000-0002-8325-6356)
Año2010
Volumen20
Número2
Páginas319-333
Fecha de publicación2010-03-09
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1091-1359 • E-ISSN: 1540-3556
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10911350903269955
OpenAlexW1965378647
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas28
Referencias citadas21

This article provides a historical and critical analysis of homelessness in the United States. It argues that societal understanding of homelessness stems from a process of social construction in which, over time, differing groups have framed the definition and debate. The main groups influencing interpretations of homelessness are those ascribing to individual and the structural interpretations of social problems. Individual interpretations suggest that homelessness is the result of personal deficiencies, such as substance abuse and social disaffiliation, whereas structural interpretations suggest that it is the result of systemic factors, such as lack of affordable housing and employment opportunities. Social construction has influenced scholarship as well by dictating which questions researchers ask and which evidence gets disseminated. The article concludes by encouraging scholars to reframe the policy debate in a way that more accurately reflects the empirical reality of homelessness. KEYWORDS: Homelesssocial constructionindividualismstructuralism

Cognitive reframing · Criminology · Political science · Scholarship · Social constructionism · Social science · Sociology · Homelessness and Social Issues · Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism · Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies · Law · Social Psychology