TY - JOUR
T1 - Discrimination and well-being amongst the homeless
T2 - The role of multiple group membership
AU - Johnstone, Melissa
AU - Jetten, Jolanda
AU - Dingle, Genevieve A.
AU - Parsell, Cameron
AU - Walter, Zoe C.
N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.
PY - 2015/6/1
Y1 - 2015/6/1
N2 - The homeless are a vulnerable population in many respects. Those experiencing homelessness not only experience personal and economic hardship they also frequently face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status. Although past research has shown that identifying with multiple groups can buffer against the negative consequences of discrimination on well-being, it remains to be seen whether such strategies protect well-being of people who are homeless. We investigate this issue in a longitudinal study of 119 individuals who were homeless. The results showed that perceived group-based discrimination at T1 was associated with fewer group memberships, and lower subsequent well-being at T2. There was no relationship between personal discrimination at T1 on multiple group memberships at T2. The findings suggest that the experience of group-based discrimination may hinder connecting with groups in the broader social world - groups that could potentially protect the individual against the negative impact of homelessness and discrimination.
AB - The homeless are a vulnerable population in many respects. Those experiencing homelessness not only experience personal and economic hardship they also frequently face discrimination and exclusion because of their housing status. Although past research has shown that identifying with multiple groups can buffer against the negative consequences of discrimination on well-being, it remains to be seen whether such strategies protect well-being of people who are homeless. We investigate this issue in a longitudinal study of 119 individuals who were homeless. The results showed that perceived group-based discrimination at T1 was associated with fewer group memberships, and lower subsequent well-being at T2. There was no relationship between personal discrimination at T1 on multiple group memberships at T2. The findings suggest that the experience of group-based discrimination may hinder connecting with groups in the broader social world - groups that could potentially protect the individual against the negative impact of homelessness and discrimination.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84940559711&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LP110200437
U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00739
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00739
M3 - Article
C2 - 26082741
AN - SCOPUS:84940559711
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 6
SP - 1
EP - 9
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
M1 - 739
ER -