An Experimental Approach to Assessing the Attitudes of Social Service and Healthcare Employees toward the Homeless

Abstract

The current study examined attitudes about the homeless among a range of social service and healthcare employees using both self-report and an experimental approach. Ninety-six respondents were recruited from drop-in shelters, medical facilities and social service agencies. After completing an initial measure of homelessness stigmatization, participants were randomly assigned into one of two experimental conditions in which they were given a description of a fictional 20-year-old client described as either homeless or domiciled. It was hypothesized that prior to the manipulation there will be no differences between the two groups and that the manipulation would induce those who read about the homeless client to subsequently endorse more stereotyped beliefs than those who read about a domiciled counterpart. The results revealed no pre-manipulation differences between the groups, while the manipulation invoked beliefs that the homeless client was dangerous, needed help with reading and financial literacy, and needed advice on personal hygiene, compared to the control group. These results highlight the work that still needs to be done in training service providers in terms of providing a bias-free environment for potential clients. Future studies should investigate whether proper training and education reduce preexisting assumptions about homeless clients.

Keywords:

• Homeless
• discrimination
• emerging adults
• stigma

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the American Psychological Foundation 2017 Visionary Fund Grant.