"I May be Homeless, But I'm Not Helpless"

The Costs and Benefits of Identifying with Homelessness

Bibliographic Data

ID15411352
AuthorsRandall E Osborne (0000-0001-9143-707X, corresponding author)
Year2002
Volume1
Issue1
Pages43-52
Publication date2002-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSelf and Identity (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1529-8868 • E-ISSN: 1529-8876
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/152988602317232795
OpenAlexW2157082806
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited21

Anecdotal research strongly suggests homeless persons who develop subsistence strategies to survive on the street maintain self-reliance yet are highly unlikely to transition back off the street. The current study empirically tests this assumption. Ninety-seven homeless persons were interviewed, given a spontaneous self-concept description measure, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale(1979). Combing two self-report scores created an "identification with homelessness" score. As predicted, those individuals who identified most highly with the identity of being homeless: (a) used fewer services (were more self-reliant), (b) made fewer attempts to transition off the street, and (c) had higher self-esteem scores than those with low identification scores. These data and additional data assessing the impact of perceived needs on the aforementioned dependent measures are explored

Identification (biology · Identity (music · Scale (ratio · Self-esteem · Subsistence agriculture · Clinical Psychology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Homelessness and Social Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies

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