Top

Published in:

01-10-2016 | Original Paper

Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program

Authors: Heather M. Gray, Paige M. Shaffer, Sarah E. Nelson, Howard J. Shaffer

Published in: Community Mental Health Journal | Issue 7/2016

Abstract

Social networks play important roles in mental and physical health among the general population. Building healthier social networks might contribute to the development of self-sufficiency among people struggling to overcome homelessness and substance use disorders. In this study of homeless adults completing a job- and life-skills program (i.e., the Moving Ahead Program at St. Francis House, Boston), we prospectively examined changes in social network quality, size, and composition. Among the sample of participants (n = 150), we observed positive changes in social network quality over time. However, social network size and composition did not change among the full sample. The subset of participants who reported abstaining from alcohol during the months before starting the program reported healthy changes in their social networks; specifically, while completing the program, they re-structured their social networks such that fewer members of their network used alcohol to intoxication. We discuss practical implications of these findings.

A total of 317 students began MAP during this time period. Therefore, this dataset represents a 82.6% response rate.

Participants indicated whether they were “lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and/or having a primary nighttime residence that is (a) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations (including welfare hotels, congregate shelters, and transitional housing for the mentally ill); (b) an institution that provides a temporary residence for individuals intended to be institutionalized; or (c) a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings).”

Ali, M. M., Amialchuk, A., & Dwyer, D. S. (2011). The social contagion effect of marijuana use among adolescents. PLoS One, 6(1), e16183. doi:10.11371/journal.pone.0016183.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Amieva, H., Stoykova, R., Matharan, F., Helmer, C., Antonucci, T. C., & Dartigues, J.-F. (2010). What aspects of social network are protective for dementia? Not the quantity but the quality of social interactions is protective up to 15 years later. Psychosomatic Medicine, 72(9), 905–911. doi:10.1097/PSY.0b013e3181f5e121.CrossRefPubMed

Bassuk, E. L., & Rosenberg, L. (1988). Why does family homelessness occur? A case–control study. American Journal of Public Health, 78, 783–788.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Bassuk, E. L., Rubin, L., & Lauriat, A. (1984). Is homelessness a mental health problem? The American Journal of Psychiatry, 141(12), 1546–1550.CrossRefPubMed

Biswas-Diener, R., & Diener, E. D. (2006). The subjective well-being of the homeless, and lessons for happiness. Social Indicators Research, 76, 185–205.CrossRef

Chappell, N. L., & Badger, M. (1989). Social isolation and well-being. Journal of Gerontology, 44(5), S169–S176. doi:10.1093/geronj/44.5.S169.CrossRefPubMed

Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2013). Social contagion theory: examining dynamic social networks and human behavior. Statistics in Medicine, 32(4), 556–577.CrossRefPubMed

Desmond, M. (2012). Disposable ties and the urban poor. American Journal of Sociology, 117, 1295–1335.CrossRef

Dishion, T. J., & Owen, L. D. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of friendships and substance use: Bidirectional influence from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 28(4), 480–491.CrossRef

Drake, R. E., Brunette, M. F., & Mueser, K. T. (1998). Substance use disorders and social functioning in schizophrenia. In K. T. Mueser & N. Tarrier (Eds.), Handbook of social functioning in schizophrenia (pp. 280–289). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Fischer, P. J., & Breakey, W. R. (1985). Homelessness and mental health: An overview. International Journal of Mental Health, 14(4), 6–41.CrossRef

Fujimoto, K., & Valente, T. W. (2012). Social network influences on adolescent substance use: Disentangling structural equivalence from cohesion. Social Science and Medicine, 74(12), 1952–1960.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Graham, S. M., Huang, J. Y., Clark, M. S., & Helgeson, V. S. (2008). The positives of negative emotions: Willingness to express negative emotions promotes relationship. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 394–406.CrossRefPubMed

Green, H. D, Jr, de la Haye, K., Tucker, J. S., & Golinelli, D. (2013). Shared risk: Who engages in substance use with American homeless youth? Addiction, 108(9), 1618–1624. doi:10.1111/add.12177.CrossRefPubMed

Grigsby, C., Baumann, D., Gregorich, S. E., & Roberts-Gray, C. (1990). Disaffiliation to entrenchment: A model for understanding homelessness. Journal of Social Issues, 46(4), 141–156.CrossRef

Hawkins, R. L., & Abrams, C. (2007). Disappearing acts: The social networks of formerly homeless individuals with co-occurring disorders. Social Science and Medicine, 65(10), 2031–2042.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

House, J. S., Landis, K. R., & Umberson, D. (1988). Social relationships and health. Science, 241(4865), 540–545. doi:10.1126/science.3399889.CrossRefPubMed

Kelly, J. F., Hoeppner, B., Stout, R. L., & Pagano, M. (2012). Determining the relative importance of the mechanisms of behavior change within Alcoholics Anonymous: A multiple mediator analysis. Addiction, 107(2), 289–299. doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2011.03593.x.CrossRefPubMed

Kessler, R. C., & Ustun, T. B. (2004). The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative version of the World Health Organization (WHO) Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 13(2), 93–121.CrossRefPubMed

Lee, R. M., Draper, M., & Lee, S. (2001). Social connectedness, dysfunctional interpersonal behaviors, and psychological distress: Testing a mediator model. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 48(3), 310–318.CrossRef

McCarty, C. (2002). Measuring structure in personal networks. Journal of Social Structure, 3(1). http://www.cmu.edu/joss/content/articles/volume3/McCarty.html.

Milburn, N., & D’Ercole, A. (1991). Homeless women: Moving toward a comprehensive model. American Psychologist, 46(11), 1161–1169. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.46.11.1161.CrossRefPubMed

Morris, S. B., & DeShon, R. P. (2002). Combining effect size estimates in meta-analysis with repeated measures and independent-groups designs. Psychological Methods, 7(1), 105–125.CrossRefPubMed

Nelson, S. E., Gray, H. M., Maurice, I. R., & Shaffer, H. J. (2012). Moving ahead: Evaluation of a work-skills training program for homeless adults. Community Mental Health Journal, 48(6), 711–722.CrossRefPubMed

Savage, A., & Russell, L. A. (2005). Tangled in a web of affiliation: social support networks of dually diagnosed women who are trauma survivors. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 32(2), 199–214.CrossRef

Schwartz, S. R., & Goldfinger, S. M. (1981). The new chronic patient: Clinical characteristics of an emerging subgroup. Hospital & Community Psychiatry, 32(7), 470–474.

Smith, K. P., & Christakis, N. A. (2008). Social Networks and Health. Annual Review of Sociology, 34, 405–429.CrossRef

Sokolovsky, J., Cohen, C., Berger, D., & Geiger, J. (1978). Personal networks of ex-mental patients in a Manhattan SRO hotel. Human organization, 37(1), 5–15.CrossRefPubMed

Sprecher, S., & Hendrick, S. S. (2004). Self-disclosure in intimate relationships: Associations with individual and relationship characteristics over time. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 857–877.CrossRef

Stebbins, P., Joyce, R., & Ryan, A. (2013). St. Fransis House MAP progress report: April 2013. Boston, MA: St. Francis House.

Thoits, P. A. (1983). Multiple identities and psychological well-being: A reformulation and test of the social isolation hypothesis. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 174–187.CrossRefPubMed

Tiffany, S. T., Friedman, L., Greenfield, S. F., Hasin, D. S., & Jackson, R. (2012). Beyond drug use: A systematic consideration of other outcomes in evaluations of treatments for substance use disorders. Addiction, 107(4), 709–718.CrossRefPubMed

Tyler, K. A. (2008). Social network characteristics and risky sexual and drug related behaviors among homeless young adults. Social Science Research, 37(2), 673–685. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.09.004.CrossRefPubMed

Uchino, B. N., Cacioppo, J. T., & Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K. (1996). The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 488–531.CrossRefPubMed

Valente, T. W. (2010). Social networks and health: Models, methods, and applications. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRef

Van Ryzin, M. J., & Dishion, T. J. (2013). From antisocial behavior to violence: A model for the amplifying role of coercive joining in adolescent friendships. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(6), 661–669. doi:10.1111/jcpp.12017.CrossRefPubMed

Wenzel, S. L., Green, H. D, Jr, Tucker, J. S., Golinelli, D., Kennedy, D. P., Ryan, G., & Zhou, A. (2009). The social context of homeless women’s alcohol and drug use. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 105(1–2), 16–23.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Wenzel, S. L., Tucker, J. S., Golinelli, D., Green, H. D, Jr, & Zhou, A. (2010). Personal network correlates of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among homeless youth. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 112(1–2), 140–149. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2010.06.004.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Title: Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program
Authors: Heather M. Gray
Paige M. Shaffer
Sarah E. Nelson
Howard J. Shaffer
Publication date: 01-10-2016
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Community Mental Health Journal / Issue 7/2016
Print ISSN: 0010-3853
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2789
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10597-014-9817-5

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Changing Social Networks Among Homeless Individuals: A Prospective Evaluation of a Job- and Life-Skills Training Program

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 7/2016

Cognitive and Social Functioning Correlates of Employment Among People with Severe Mental Illness

“What’s Wrong with the Seed?” A Comparative Examination of an Empowering Community-Centered Approach to Recovery in Community Mental Health

Only Making Things Worse: A Qualitative Study of the Impact of Wrongly Removing Disability Benefits from People with Mental Illness

How Can Community Religious Groups Aid Recovery for Individuals with Psychotic Illnesses?

Why do mental health consumers who receive rehabilitation services, are not using them? A Qualitative Investigation of Users’ Perspectives in Israel

Peer Support Providers’ Role Experiences on Interprofessional Mental Health Care Teams: A Qualitative Study