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A psychosocial mediational model of homelessness among U.S. male and female veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan
Author(s) -
Spinola Suzanne,
Hoff Rani A.,
Tsai Jack
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/hsc.13106
Subject(s) - psychosocial , social support , psychology , psychiatry , medicine , demography , gerontology , clinical psychology , social psychology , sociology
Few studies have focused on homelessness among Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND) veterans, especially female veterans. An explanatory model of homelessness was constructed and tested for each gender. Data collected in the United States from 833 OEF/OIF/OND veterans (41.5% female; M age = 35.22, SD = 8.86) who completed the baseline assessment of the Survey of the Experiences of Returning Veterans between September 2011 and July 2014 were analysed. Path analysis was used to examine associations between risk factors and any lifetime homelessness, stratified by gender. Adverse childhood events (ACEs) and low social support were significantly associated with lifetime homelessness for both genders. Social support mediated associations between ACEs and homelessness, after controlling for sociodemographic factors. While sociodemographic risk factors are often considered in homeless prevention, these findings highlight the importance of social support among male and female OEF/OIF/OND veterans, underscoring the need to target this life domain in preventing homelessness.