Advisor
Softas-Nall, Basilia
Committee Member
Johnson, Brian D.
Committee Member
Hess, Robyn S.
Department
Counseling Psychology
Institution
University of Northern Colorado
Type of Resources
Text
Place of Publication
Greeley (Colo.)
Publisher
University of Northern Colorado
Date Created
8-1-2015
Genre
Thesis
Extent
608 pages
Digital Origin
Born digital
Description
The purpose of this narrative inquiry was to illustrate the contextualized, multifaceted life stories of individuals who are homeless by exploring the reciprocal influence between (a) attachment, (b) and resiliency themes. In-depth narratives were gathered from 13 adults who were currently homeless and residing in one of two transitional homeless shelters in the Rocky Mountain region. While participant narratives as a whole are stand-alone results for revealing stereotype-challenging counter-narrative elements, cross-narrative analysis was conducted to explore commonalities of themes. Nine tentative themes emerged, including: Plurality of Pathways, It is Scary to Become Homeless, Adversity and Resilience Abound, Individualized Coping Strategies, Catch-22 of Individual-Level Protective Factors, Secure Versus Insecure: Which is More Adaptive, Importance of Positive Attachment Ties, Importance of Community Response, and Context: Tangible and Relational Resources. Results are used to discuss implications for possible inroads for homelessness prevention and intervention, highlight strengths and protective factors that can be drawn on clinically, and develop a more layered and contextualized understanding of pathways into and current experiences of homelessness.
Degree type
PhD
Degree Name
Doctoral
Language
English
Local Identifiers
Roche_unco_0161D_10406
Rights Statement
Copyright is held by author.
