Friends and pets as companions: strategies for coping with loneliness among homeless youth.
OBJECTIVE
Loneliness and negative health outcomes associated with being homeless and living on the streets.


METHODS
Qualitative data from 32 homeless youth, ages 16 to 23 years, who participated in focus groups, and a subsample of 10 youth, ages 15 to 23 years, who participated in individual interviews, were analyzed using manifest and content analysis, techniques.


RESULTS
Homeless adolescents who live on the streets or in "squats" described feelings of loneliness that they say "go with the territory." Three themes emerged from the data: how lonely subjects felt, circumstances that provoked feelings of loneliness, and ways of coping with loneliness. Thirteen identified their pets as companions that provided unconditional love, reduced feelings of loneliness, and improved their health status.


CONCLUSIONS
Vulnerable adolescents who are homeless often recognize the therapeutic value of pets. Interventions that enhance this coping strategy need to be developed and tested.
Rew
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School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, USA. Ellerew@mail.utexas.edu
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D018453:Homeless Youth / Q000523:psychology*; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008132:Loneliness; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010379:Peer Group; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012307:Risk Factors; D012934:Social Isolation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013781:Texas