Family Violence and Homelessness: The Relevance of Trauma Histories in the Lives of Homeless Women
Description:
Explores the possibility that the characteristics noted in homeless women at the time they are identified as homeless may be due in part to the long-term effects of past traumas. Studies of homeless women reveal high lifetime rates of childhood physical and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and of assault by intimate male partners. CSA has a long-term impact on emotions, self-perceptions, interpersonal relating and social functioning, physiological well-being, safety, and self-care. Although not all homeless women experienced CSA and most CSA survivors do not become homeless, family violence may increase vulnerability to later homelessness for some survivors. Some of the manifestations of traumatic victimization can be systematized in terms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (Author)
Type of Resource:
Journal
Publication Date:
1993
Volume:
63
Issue:
3
Pages:
370-384