Homelessness and social capital
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding social capital and exploring mental distress in the context of homelessness
IRAS ID
268626
Contact name
Nadia Ayed
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 28 days
Research summary
Aims:
1) To identify the amount and type of social capital present in homeless individuals
2) To explore relationships between social capital, mental distress, quality of life, drug and alcohol use and contact with services.
3) To gain in-depth understanding of the social world of homeless people
Background: Social capital is an umbrella term that describes features of the social environment (e.g. relationships, trust, access to services). Research shows that social capital is important for our health and well-being. However, little is known about the social capital of homeless people. We know that homeless people are profoundly marginalised in society, often isolated with low levels of social support. Further,there is some information to suggest that social relationships can become compromised in the context of poverty and marginalisation. However, having strong and positive social relationships is extremely important when homeless, as it provides emotional support, solidarity and can encourage individuals to access services. More research is required to identify the nuances associated with social capital in the context of homelessness and how it relates to mental distress.Design of the study: There are two stages to this research. First, a survey will be distributed to three groups: homeless people, community mental health service users and the general public. This will allow us to obtain information regarding the amount and type of social capital present in these groups. The survey data will also be used to explore how social capital is associated with mental distress, quality of life, drug and alcohol use and contact with services. Second, interviews will be held with homeless people, to gain a more in-depth understanding of their experiences. Last, we will conduct interviews with staff from homeless services and/or organisations to get their perspective.
Lay summary of study results:
Social capital can be used as a lens to draw attention towards important features, relationships and resources embedded in environments and between individuals. It promotes an understanding that people are embedded in social worlds – relationships, communities and connectedness – which serve as essential context to understanding experiences and practices. Work extending social capital to the context of homelessness and housing precarity is limited. Yet, social capital may offer novel insight into these experiences and care provisioning.Section I lays the foundation of this thesis: a literature overview supports the conceptual review which identifies how social capital has thus far been understood in adult homelessness research. The community profiling activity explores understandings of community through focus groups with people who have experienced homelessness and housing precarity (n = 23). Section II builds on this data to adapt an existing measure of social capital. Section III comprises the main empirical elements of the thesis: a quantitative survey (n = 102) exploring associations between social capital, quality of life and mental distress, followed by semi-structured interviews with people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity (n = 30) and people working in the homelessness sector (n = 12). Finally, Section IV presents a comprehensive discussion and recommendations.
Together the findings indicate that people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity navigate complex social landscapes when accessing care and mitigating hardship. Whilst promoting social capital can contribute to better quality of life, enable people to capitalise on community resources, and help to meet psychological needs, there are also concerns. For instance, a reliance on social capital can corrode relationships, contributing to a cycle of hyper-vulnerablisation. Crucially, social capital’s ability to meaningfully transform adversity and facilitate pathways out of homelessness towards secure housing appears limited. Therefore, it may be more impactful to promote social capital once someone is securely housed.
REC name
London - Bloomsbury Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/1645
Date of REC Opinion
31 Oct 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion