Not all homeless women are alike: effects of motherhood and the presence of children.
Previous work suggests that the population of homeless women is a heterogeneous group, and that motherhood and the presence or absence of children define sub-groups that may be distinct. The current study is a systematic study of 300 homeless women (90% of whom were mothers) according to these suggested sub-groupings. Mothers whose children were with them, compared to other women, were younger and often unemployed and welfare dependent. Mothers without their children had higher rates of nonsubstance Axis I disorders (48%) and alcoholism (33%), and 72% had a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis. Homeless mothers whose children are not with them represent a deviant subgroup with more personal (and fewer social) vulnerabilities to homelessness and may represent a target population for focus of psychiatric treatment efforts. Mothers with their children may benefit more from increased attention to social services.
Smith
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Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO 63110.
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D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002655:Child Custody; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008923:Missouri / Q000453:epidemiology; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010552:Personality Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D015406:Single Parent / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012931:Social Environment; D012946:Social Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012947:Social Work; D014478:Unemployment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data