Escaping Homelessness: The Influences of Self‐Efficacy and Time Perspective on Coping With Homelessness1

Abstract

This study explored whether self‐efficacy and time perspective of homeless adults (N= 82) living in a shelter affected their coping strategies related to obtaining housing and employment. Participants with high self‐efficacy searched more for housing and employment and stayed at the shelter for a shorter duration, whereas participants with low self‐efficacy were more likely to request an extension of their stay at the shelter. Those high on future orientation had shorter durations of homelessness and were more likely to enroll in school and to report gaining positive benefits from their predicament, whereas those with a high present orientation had more avoidant coping strategies. Despite the predictive power of self‐efficacy and future orientation of proactive search behaviors, there were no predictors of obtaining stable housing, which is a scarce resource in the area. However, a high present orientation predicted obtaining temporary housing. A present temporal perspective may be adaptive in finding short‐term solutions to an unstable situation, such as homelessness. The role of time perspective in crisis situations is discussed, as well as the severe environmental constraints on the exercise of personal control over reality dictated by social, economic, and political forces.