Spirituality and homelessness

Spirituality affects both mental and physical health outcomes in the general United States population across different ethnic groups.

For the homeless who practice spirituality as a positive coping mechanism, it often improves their life and is cited as a source of strength and comfort in qualitative research.

Spirituality does not have a clear definition, though it is generally regarded as the search for and experience of the sacred, meaning God, a higher power, or something of divine nature.

Positive spiritual coping manifests itself as a strong relationship with God, seeking support from the community and a higher power, looking for meaning in life and helping others.

[9] For those who engage in negative spiritual coping, it is related to significantly poorer physical and mental health outcomes as well as higher mortality.

For citizens of Oklahoma City who experienced the federal building bombing, it was associated with more post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and higher levels of callousness.

For college students, negative spiritual coping was associated with higher levels of emotional distress and poorer physical health.

For hospital patients with physical ailments, negative spiritual coping was associated with higher levels of depression and lower quality of life.

[12] Youth, typically defined as people between the ages of twelve and twenty-four, make up a large portion of the homeless population.

[14][15][16] These youth have higher rates of mental health disorders, suicide, and drug/alcohol dependency due to the high amount of stressors in their lives.

[16] A theme across multiple studies the coping mechanisms of homeless youth is that their beliefs act as a source of strength and comfort; many attribute their ability to survive to the direct intervention of a higher power or to their faith.

[13][15][16] One individual in a group discussion conducted by Bender (2007) commented on his engagement with the divine as a source of comfort and survival saying, "The man upstairs is what helps me.

However, a quantitative study conducted by Kidd and Carroll revealed that spirituality was not associated with a lower suicide risk in homeless youth.

[17] For homeless men, specifically those suffering from a substance abuse problem or who are in crisis, spirituality often serves as a positive coping mechanism, giving meaning to life and is tied to a sense of peace.

[7][21] Higher levels of spirituality is also associated with a lowered risk of depression and suicide among homeless women as well as increased health-promoting behaviors.

[7][19] Research shows that African Americans as a population, especially women, tend to have higher levels of religious involvement and deep ties to faith and spirituality.

[2] Douglas et al. (2008) found that homeless African American women placed a higher importance on spirituality and that lower rates of spiritual well-being among African American homeless mothers resulted in higher anxiety, increased trauma, punitive parenting and child behavioral issues.