Abstract
The role of psychology in the improvement of people’s lives is consistent, according to the scientific literature review. More and more studies within psychology, and other social sciences, are pointing out the importance of the quality of social interactions on physical and mental health and upon perceived wellbeing. When talking about homelessness, psychology has served these individuals mostly by informing intervention programs related to preventing and responding to substance abuse, healthcare, sexual risks, or mental illnesses, and these are key problems that psychology has also studied and found to be connected to homelessness. Such strategies, which were traditionally mostly centered on tackling the weaknesses that homeless people face, are now increasingly considering the role of the social support services. The aim of this study was, on the one hand, to identify evidence on the importance of solidarity as a key factor in the process of overcoming homelessness, and associated substance abuse situations, and the barriers and conditions to achieve it. On another hand, the aim was also to approach the impact of that solidarity on their general wellbeing from the perspective of homeless subjects themselves. To achieve this aim, 20 life stories of people aged 35 to 70 years old were conducted in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. The people interviewed had been homeless in a recent period of their lives and were currently dependent on different services. The communicative methodology allowed deepening into the life stories of these individuals via egalitarian dialogue between the researchers and the participants. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that a strong solidarity network was crucial in the process of overcoming the participants’ homelessness situation and to tackle related circumstances (alcoholism and drug abuse among others), and this has had an impact in their general wellbeing and in the development of more solidarity attitudes. These findings are discussed in light of psychological knowledge and other social sciences literature on the importance of quality social environments to support positive developmental trajectories and considering the potential social impact of the intervention programs that take into account the factor of solidarity during their implementation process.
Highlights
The role that psychology has in the improvement of people’s lives is undeniable and pervasive in the literature on psychological research
If one considers social impact to infer social improvements attained from the transference of the research results (Pulido et al, 2018), the social impact of psychology has served homeless people mostly by informing intervention programs related to preventing and responding to substance abuse (Davidson et al, 2013), healthcare (Salem and Ma-Pham, 2015; Fajardo-Bullón et al, 2019), sexual risks (Pedersen et al, 2018), or mental illnesses (Noël et al, 2016; Fond et al, 2019) – key problems that psychology has studied and found to be connected to homelessness
The analysis carried out has shed light on the initial purposes of the research: finding the barriers that participants identify that impede achieving a stable situation regarding housing or detoxification; assessing the solidarity networks and attitudes as the conditions they value as the most significant for the overcoming of both their homelessness situation and other associated circumstances, such as alcoholism or drug dependence; and identifying the impact of these solidarity attitudes to their personal processes of recovery and general wellbeing
Summary
The role that psychology has in the improvement of people’s lives is undeniable and pervasive in the literature on psychological research. If one considers social impact to infer social improvements attained from the transference of the research results (Pulido et al, 2018), the social impact of psychology has served homeless people mostly by informing intervention programs related to preventing and responding to substance abuse (Davidson et al, 2013), healthcare (Salem and Ma-Pham, 2015; Fajardo-Bullón et al, 2019), sexual risks (Pedersen et al, 2018), or mental illnesses (Noël et al, 2016; Fond et al, 2019) – key problems that psychology has studied and found to be connected to homelessness. Homelessness is the result of the interaction of several factors, including socioeconomic factors and conditions of personal vulnerability (Shinn and Weitzman, 1990; Philippot et al, 2007)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
