Survival on the streets: Coping strategies of mothers who are homeless.

Critiques current theories of coping with stress and presents a reformulated model based on feminist theories and critiques. This revised theory was then used to examine daily stressors and coping strategies used by 65 mothers of young children who were living in one of three temporary shelters for homeless families. Qualitative data analyses of interview transcripts and quantitative evaluation of several questionnaire measures revealed high levels of stressful events and emotional distress for this population. Sources of stress were interconnected in complex and important ways. Mothers reported using a variety of coping strategies to deal with problems of daily living, including the use of action-oriented and palliative techniques and social support. Participants were also able to articulate a variety of strengths, including taking action on behalf of themselves and their children and demonstrating determination, perseverence, and independence. Interesting differences were observed between data obtained using various methods. The data supported the revised theory of coping. Implications for current coping theory as well as for future research, policy, and program development are discussed.PhDClinical psychologyPsychologySocial SciencesSocial workUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/129338/2/9500883.pd