Date of Award

1-1-2012

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

College/School/Department

School of Social Welfare

Content Description

1 online resource (xii, 138 pages) : illustrations (some color)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

Eric R Hardiman

Committee Members

Brenda D Smith, Debra M Hernandez Jozefowicz

Keywords

empowerment, gender, homelessness, mastery, psychiatric disability, supported housing, Congregate housing, Mentally ill homeless persons, Power (Social sciences), Sex discrimination, Homelessness, Mental illness

Subject Categories

Psychiatric and Mental Health | Social Work

Abstract

Using data from an evaluation of a supported housing program for adults with psychiatric disabilities and histories of homelessness (n = 59), the relationships of gender and the presence of children with subjective measures of mental health, personal mastery, personal empowerment, social support, and quality of life were explored, and the results informed the development of a revised consumer-oriented empowerment model. Key findings include a significant relationship between gender and personal mastery and empowerment with women scoring significantly lower than men on measures of this construct, and the role of personal mastery and empowerment as a mediator between psychiatric symptoms and social network satisfaction and between psychiatric symptoms and quality of life. The presence of children had little to no effect on model variables unlike in previous research with people experiencing homelessness. The revised model can inform the provision of gender-aware services aiming to bolster the mechanisms by which all consumers of supported housing regain control of their lives.

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