Homeless Youth: Coping with Loneliness

ABSTRACT

Homelessness is prevalent in our society and just like their counterparts in the general population, the homeless encounter, amongst other experiences, also loneliness. Their coping strategies with the pain of loneliness were compared to that of the general population. One hundred and thirteen youth and young adult homeless, and 211 participants from the general population answered a 34 item yes/no questionnaire which included the following coping factors: Reflection and acceptance, Self-development and understanding, Social support network. Distancing and Denial, Religion and faith and Increased activity. Significant differences in coping patterns were noted between the samples with the homeless having higher mean scores than the general population on the Self-development and understanding and on the Distancing and denial subscales.