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“We remember the pain”: a qualitative study of intergenerational trauma among older adults experiencing homelessness in the HOPE HOME study

“We remember the pain”: a qualitative study of intergenerational trauma among older adults... Rates of homelessness among adults aged 50 and over are rising. Common strategies for exiting homelessness rely on social and family support. However, intergenerational trauma may disrupt these social support networks and contribute to homelessness. Understanding the impact of intergenerational trauma on living with family or friends may give insight into addressing homelessness among older adults. We purposefully sampled 46 adults who reported living with family or friends from the HOPE HOME study cohort (350 community-recruited adults, ≥50 years and experiencing homelessness in Oakland, California) and 19 family/friends who had hosted the participants in their living spaces. We conducted independent, semi-structured interviews and used grounded theory methodologies to analyze data. We identified four major themes from the interviews: (1) Intergenerational trauma was common and made it difficult to stay with family or friends; (2) Participants and hosts sought to protect future generations from intergenerational trauma; (3) Relationships endured despite intergenerational trauma; and (4) social structures exacerbated the impact of intergenerational trauma and played a significant role in perpetuating homelessness. Trauma-informed policies that confront the structures that propagate or exacerbate intergenerational trauma may mitigate their impact and facilitate housing for older adults. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Social Distress and Homeless Taylor & Francis

“We remember the pain”: a qualitative study of intergenerational trauma among older adults experiencing homelessness in the HOPE HOME study

“We remember the pain”: a qualitative study of intergenerational trauma among older adults experiencing homelessness in the HOPE HOME study

Journal of Social Distress and Homeless , Volume OnlineFirst: 9 – May 27, 2022

Abstract

Rates of homelessness among adults aged 50 and over are rising. Common strategies for exiting homelessness rely on social and family support. However, intergenerational trauma may disrupt these social support networks and contribute to homelessness. Understanding the impact of intergenerational trauma on living with family or friends may give insight into addressing homelessness among older adults. We purposefully sampled 46 adults who reported living with family or friends from the HOPE HOME study cohort (350 community-recruited adults, ≥50 years and experiencing homelessness in Oakland, California) and 19 family/friends who had hosted the participants in their living spaces. We conducted independent, semi-structured interviews and used grounded theory methodologies to analyze data. We identified four major themes from the interviews: (1) Intergenerational trauma was common and made it difficult to stay with family or friends; (2) Participants and hosts sought to protect future generations from intergenerational trauma; (3) Relationships endured despite intergenerational trauma; and (4) social structures exacerbated the impact of intergenerational trauma and played a significant role in perpetuating homelessness. Trauma-informed policies that confront the structures that propagate or exacerbate intergenerational trauma may mitigate their impact and facilitate housing for older adults.

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References (20)

Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Copyright
© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
ISSN
1573-658X
eISSN
1053-0789
DOI
10.1080/10530789.2022.2080793
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Rates of homelessness among adults aged 50 and over are rising. Common strategies for exiting homelessness rely on social and family support. However, intergenerational trauma may disrupt these social support networks and contribute to homelessness. Understanding the impact of intergenerational trauma on living with family or friends may give insight into addressing homelessness among older adults. We purposefully sampled 46 adults who reported living with family or friends from the HOPE HOME study cohort (350 community-recruited adults, ≥50 years and experiencing homelessness in Oakland, California) and 19 family/friends who had hosted the participants in their living spaces. We conducted independent, semi-structured interviews and used grounded theory methodologies to analyze data. We identified four major themes from the interviews: (1) Intergenerational trauma was common and made it difficult to stay with family or friends; (2) Participants and hosts sought to protect future generations from intergenerational trauma; (3) Relationships endured despite intergenerational trauma; and (4) social structures exacerbated the impact of intergenerational trauma and played a significant role in perpetuating homelessness. Trauma-informed policies that confront the structures that propagate or exacerbate intergenerational trauma may mitigate their impact and facilitate housing for older adults.

Journal

Journal of Social Distress and HomelessTaylor & Francis

Published: May 27, 2022

Keywords: trauma; aging; homelessness; qualitative

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