TY - JOUR
T1 - Risk and Resilience Factors Associated With Formal and Informal Income Generation Among Homeless Young Adults in Three U.S. Cities
AU - Ferguson-Colvin, Kristin
AU - Bender, Kimberly
AU - Thompson, Sanna J.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided in Los Angeles by the University of Southern California (USC), School of Social Work Hamovitch Research Center; in Denver by the University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work; and in Austin by a Faculty Development Grant from the University of Texas at Austin and the Center for Social Work Research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015, © The Author(s) 2015.
PY - 2018/4/1
Y1 - 2018/4/1
N2 - This study used the risk and resilience framework to examine predictors of formal and informal sources of income among homeless young adults. Formal sources of income generation consisted of full-time, part-time, or paid, temporary work. Informal sources included earning money from selling personal possessions, selling drugs, and theft. In all, 601 homeless young adults from three U.S. cities participated in semi-structured interviews. Structural equation modeling assessed whether demographic, homelessness history, mental health, problem behaviors, and resilience predicted income generation source. Income generation from formal sources was associated with being male, having a greater number of problem behaviors, and reporting higher levels of resilience. Informal income generation was associated with younger age, being transient, and reporting a greater number of problem behaviors. Findings underscore the need to address homelessness risk factors to support homeless young adults in securing stable, formal employment as an alternative to informal survival behaviors to earn income.
AB - This study used the risk and resilience framework to examine predictors of formal and informal sources of income among homeless young adults. Formal sources of income generation consisted of full-time, part-time, or paid, temporary work. Informal sources included earning money from selling personal possessions, selling drugs, and theft. In all, 601 homeless young adults from three U.S. cities participated in semi-structured interviews. Structural equation modeling assessed whether demographic, homelessness history, mental health, problem behaviors, and resilience predicted income generation source. Income generation from formal sources was associated with being male, having a greater number of problem behaviors, and reporting higher levels of resilience. Informal income generation was associated with younger age, being transient, and reporting a greater number of problem behaviors. Findings underscore the need to address homelessness risk factors to support homeless young adults in securing stable, formal employment as an alternative to informal survival behaviors to earn income.
KW - employment
KW - homeless young adults
KW - income generation
KW - resilience
KW - risk factor
KW - structural equation model
KW - survival behavior
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85033219552&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1177/0044118X15600722
DO - 10.1177/0044118X15600722
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85033219552
SN - 0044-118X
VL - 50
SP - 351
EP - 376
JO - Youth and Society
JF - Youth and Society
IS - 3
ER -