Children Living in Temporary Shelters How Homelessness Effects Their Perception of Home

Health care policy and proposals for national health care reform have become some of the most contentious political issues of the decade. Garland Publishing announces a new series addressing the most significant issues in the area of health care policy and the business of health care in the United States. books in this multidisciplinary series will include studies of health care practice, the health care business, the implications of multicultural perspectives on health care for public policy, the impact of insurance on health care, and debates over national health care policy, including health care reform. This collection of timely works will offer significant scholarly perspectives on one of the most important issues in public policy.

Many variables impact the perception of children ages six to eleven. In this study, a model comprised of selected critical developmental and social characteristics was created to identify, examine, and measure factors that influence the view of home for a sample of children sheltered with homeless single-parent families, for anywhere from one to 36 months.

Analyses of the respondents' scale score, which represent different intensities of the childrens' impression of home, reveals the absence of consistent health care and deficient positive peer interaction in the shelter and school environment as factors that influence the childrens' view of home. The findings support developmental theories and research that identify conditions critical for the positive growth of children during this age period: good health and positive peer relations. For the children in this study, the instability of shelter living impedes the maintenance of health care, and ashortage of peer interaction influences the childrens' ideal image of home.

The book also presents an effective way to investigate and measure a view of homelessness through self-report of children who are members of the homeless single-parent family population.

First published in 1998. The problem of homelessness is increasing nationally in volume, variety, and visibility, with the subpopulation of homeless families with children growing the fastest. An unstable living environment places these families, especially the children at risk, of accomplishing positive, adaptive socialization. In addition, the provision of supportive services to these children, impose an excessive economic burden on the public. The paucity of information and research concerning what homelessness means for children who are members of these families, are reasons for undertaking this work. The book provides a survey research model to collect and analyze information, about what the circumstances of homelessness means from the perspective of children sheltered with homeless families.

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter II Literature Review; Chapter III Problem Formation; Chapter IV Methodology; Chapter V Description of Study Subjects; chapter VI Testing the Hypotheses and Data Analyses; chapter VII Summary, Conclusions, Recommendations;

Stuart Bruchey, Allan Nevins Professor Emeritus, Columbia University.