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TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS OF YOUTH HOMELESSNESS
Author(s) -
Chamberlain Chris,
MacKenzie David
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian journal of social issues
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.417
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1839-4655
pISSN - 0157-6321
DOI - 10.1002/j.1839-4655.1994.tb00933.x
Subject(s) - underclass , typification , population , sociology , publishing , dilemma , inequality , criminology , political science , demography , epistemology , law , anthropology , taxonomy (biology) , mathematical analysis , philosophy , botany , mathematics , nomenclature , biology
This article identifies three temporal images of the homeless youth population. The dominant media typification is of an ‘underclass’ with chronic problems. A dissident image contends that most young people experience only short periods of homelessness, and that there is a ‘high turnover’ population. A third account suggests that there are both ‘short‐term’ and ‘chronically’ homeless youth, but few individuals in‐between. It is a ‘polarised’ image of the population. This article draws on information from a sample of 1,410 homeless young people to assess these accounts. The article theorises temporal concepts and it explains a methodological issue called the ‘point in time dilemma’. The main finding of the study is that the homeless population is characterised by temporal diversity. The basis for the dominant underclass typification is explained, and various policy issues are discussed.