Homelessness Is Socially Created: Cluster Analysis of Social Determinants of Homelessness (SODH) in North West England in 2020

Mzwandile Mabhala, Winifred Adaobi Esealuka, Amanda Nkolika Nwufo, Chinwe Enyinna, Chelsea Nonkosi Mabhala, Treasure Udechukwu, John Reid and Asmait Yohannes
Additional contact information
Mzwandile Mabhala: Faculty of Health and Social Care, Department of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of CHESTER, Riverside Campus, Chester CH1 1SL, UK
Winifred Adaobi Esealuka: Faculty of Health and Social Care, Department of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of CHESTER, Riverside Campus, Chester CH1 1SL, UK
Amanda Nkolika Nwufo: Faculty of Health and Social Care, Department of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of CHESTER, Riverside Campus, Chester CH1 1SL, UK
Chinwe Enyinna: Faculty of Health and Social Care, Department of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of CHESTER, Riverside Campus, Chester CH1 1SL, UK
Chelsea Nonkosi Mabhala: Faculty of Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk NR4 7TJ, UK
Treasure Udechukwu: École des Hautes Études en Santé Publique, 93 210 Paris, France
John Reid: Faculty of Health and Social Care, Department of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of CHESTER, Riverside Campus, Chester CH1 1SL, UK
Asmait Yohannes: Asmait Skincare and Design, Stamford, CT 06902, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-14

Abstract: Poverty creates social conditions that increase the likelihood of homelessness. These include exposure to traumatic life experiences; social disadvantages such as poor educational experiences; being raised in a broken family, care homes or foster care; physical, emotional, and sexual abuse; and neglect at an early age. These conditions reduce people’s ability to negotiate through life challenges. This cross-sectional study documents the clustering and frequency of adverse social conditions among 152 homeless people from four cities in North West England between January and August 2020. Two-step cluster analysis showed that having parents with a criminal record, care history, and child neglect/abuse history was predictive of homelessness. The cluster of indicator variables among homeless people included sexual abuse (?2 (N = 152) = 220.684, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.7), inappropriate sexual behaviour (?2 (N = 152) = 207.737, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.7), emotional neglect (?2 (N = 152) = 181.671, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.7), physical abuse by step-parent (?2 (N = 152) = 195.882, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.8), and physical neglect (?2 (N = 152) = 205.632, p < 0.001, Cramer’s V = 0.8). Poverty and homelessness are intertwined because of the high prevalence of poverty among the homeless. Poverty sets up a chain of interactions between social conditions that increase the likelihood of unfavourable outcomes: homelessness is at the end of the interaction chain. Interventions supporting families to rise out of poverty may also reduce entry into homelessness.

Keywords: homelessness; poverty; inequalities; two-step cluster analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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