Download How Is Social Capital Conceptualised In The Context Of Homelessness? A Conceptual Review Using A Systematic Search and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Conflictology in PDF only on Docsity!
Ar ticles How is Social Capital Conceptualised in theContext of Homelessness? A ConceptualReview using a Systematic Search 1 95
Nadia Ayed, Syeda Athker, Victoria Bird, Stefan Priebeand Janelle Jones Unit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre, Queen MaryUniversity of London, UKOxford Institute of Clinical Psychology Training, University of Oxford, UKUnit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre, Queen MaryUniversity of London, UKUnit for Social and Community Psychiatry, WHO Collaborating Centre, Queen MaryUniversity of London, UKDepartment of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological andChemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, UK
\ Abstracttions – is an increasing trajectory worldwide. Little attention has been given tothe social relationships of people affected by homelessness. However, adoptinga relational lens may provide greater understanding of people’s experiences, therelationships they form and ways to redress the impact of homelessness. Socialcapital – the existence of, access to and resources afforded by relationships –provides a useful perspective to interrogate this further. The literature on socialcapital and homelessness remains disparate, with little consensus regardinghow social capital is understood in this context and limited robust demonstrationof its utility. This review uses a systematic search to identify how social capitalhas been conceptualised in homelessness research, and synthesises theseconceptualisations into a framework using narrative synthesis. Nineteen texts_ Homelessness – comprising a spectrum of precarious living situa-
1 (17 peer-reviewed articles and two doctoral theses) were included. The proposedframework suggests three dimensions: social relationships, services andThis work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (via the LondonInterdisciplinary Social Sciences Doctoral Training Partnership).ISSN 2030-2762 / ISSN 2030-3106 online
9 6 support. Conceptualising social capital as support by focusing on the resourcesafforded by relationships provides greatest insight into people’s experiencesand may guide improvement of services. Future research should interrogatethese various sources of support and identify if they translate into meaningfulhelp – such as housing or exiting homelessness.European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
\ Introduction Homelessness – where individuals contend with a range of precarious living arrange-ments – is a profound and worsening problem, with rates increasing across the globe,including within the EU, Australia and many nations in the UN defined ‘developingworld’ (Abbé Pierre Foundation and FEANTSA, 2018; Speak, 2019; Parsell, 2020).Within the European Union, there are an estimated 410 Keywordsreview, systematic search_ homelessness, social capital, social relationships, conceptual 000 people experiencing
homelessness (roofless and houseless) on any given night (Abbé Pierre Foundationand FEANTSA, 2015). Homelessness has complex and multifaceted roots whichinclude poverty, inequality, and housing policy (such as the availability of stable andaffordable housing and secure tenancy agreements) (Bramleyalments, housing and justice systems, and charities are making efforts to addresshomelessness, with varying degrees of success. This includes the introduction ofHousing First (Abbé Pierre Foundation and FEANTSA, 2018), the HomelessnessReduction Act from local authorities in England (UK Parliament, 2017), legalapproaches such as removing priority needs tests and facilitating greater tenancysecurity (Pleace, 2019), and welfare reform (Downie., 2018; Clarke et al., 2020; Pleace, 2019). Stakeholders in national and local govern- et al., 2018). et al., 2015; Downie et
Little attention has been given to the nature and role of relationships in the contextof homelessness. However, adopting a relational lens may be helpful in at least fiveways. First, it may help to understand pathways into homelessness (Barker, 2012).Historically, homelessness has been viewed by some as the weaning of anddetachment from social institutions and informal social networks (Bogue, 1963;Spradley, 1970; Bahr, 1973; Rossiships when faced with unforeseen or negative circumstances, individuals may findthemselves in a precarious situation without the necessary resources and/or et al., 1986). Without having access to relation-
98 resources from street peers (having someone to count on) increased the likelihoodof engaging in employment services (Barman-Adhikari and Rice, 2014). As such,focusing on interpersonal relationships may serve as a useful framework whenthinking about how to provide effective and tailored services and capturing thenuances of doing so – recognising the differential effect of certain forms of support.European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
Fifth, using a relational lens may help to guide and improve interventions to endhomelessness. For example, insight can be gained through focusing on networkdiversity, when disentangling how certain relationships may leverage an individualor hinder their social mobility (Burt, 1987; Briggs, 1998). For instance, among low-income mothers, having heterogeneous networks that provide advice and encour-agement to get ahead, create opportunities for social mobility; through accessingmore diverse resources and information that may otherwise not be available tothem. Whereas having homogenous networks – such as individuals of the samesocioeconomic status – can be limiting, and reproduce social inequalities (Menjívar,2000; Domínguez and Watkins, 2003). Another example of guiding and improvinginterventions, applies to re-housing programmes. For single homeless people whoare rehoused, having family contacts and receiving support from relatives and
friends are positively associated with housing satisfaction and feeling settled(Warnesthe benefits they may offer appears to be a useful angle when thinking about inter-ventions to end homelessness.This focus on social relationships should not and does not diminish the aforemen-tioned structural and political issues that cause, perpetuate and sustain homeless-ness. However, there is arguably scope to further explore the social worlds of thoseaffected by homelessness. One route into exploring social relationships andresources is through social capital. According to Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992,p.119) social capital is “the sum of the resources, actual or virtual, that accrue to anindividual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of more or less et al., 2013). Being mindful of the importance of social relationships and
institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.” Socialcapital has attracted interest across disciplines including sociology (Portes, 1998),epidemiology (Szreter and Woolcock, 2004; Kirkbridement (Krishna and Shrader, 2002) and public health (Muntaner et alstanding social interactions, placing emphasis on what is afforded by relationshipsfrom different individuals and its associated health outcomes.Increasingly, efforts have been made to apply social capital to the context of home-lessness (Barman-Adhikari and Rice, 2014; Neale and Stevenson, 2014; Neale andStevenson, 2015). However, it should be noted that this body of literature is variedand disparate. As with many concepts (Ayed., 2002; De Silva et al., 2005). It appears to be an insightful lens into under- et al., 2019) there is little consensus et al., 2008), global develop- et al., 2001; Harpham
Ar ticles regarding what exactly is being referred to when referencing social capital. Thiscreates chasms in the literature, with little space for accumulation of knowledge,as social capital is being understood in vastly different ways. Further, questionsremain as to whether social capital as a concept can be applied to homelessness.This is because most social capital literature is grounded in the seminal works of afew authors, which were rooted in very different historical and social contexts 99
(Muntanercapital which were developed in different contexts to that of homelessness(Grootaert and van Bastelaer, 2002; De Silvaoverwhelmingly explores youth experiences of homelessness, with a dearth ofinformation pertaining to adults. Last, much of the existing literature lacks critiqueof the limitations in adopting social capital as a lens to explore experiences ofhomelessness. Without clarity about what social capital means, how it may beassessed, and to whom it may be applied, it becomes difficult to see how thisconcept can contribute to the knowledge base and help us to understand theexperiences of people affected by homelessness.To address these concerns, this review has three aims. First, to identify how social et al., 2001). A similar concern lies with existing measures of social et al., 2007). The existing literature
capital has been conceptualised in adult homeless research. Second, to synthesisethese various conceptualisations of social capital and provide a framework. Third,to discuss and critique the generated framework. Methods A systematic search was used in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Itemsfor Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines (Liberati2009). The review was registered on PROPSERO: CRD42019126152. Eligibility criteria et al.,
Texts were deemed eligible if they met the following criteria:a)b)c)d) Written in English.Studies must include primary data.Peer-reviewed – extending to doctoral theses, as they are reviewed by expertexaminers.The sample are 18 years old or above – this is because the majority of nations have18 as the age of majority, many services (e.g. accommodation) have age restric-tions, and the social capital of adults is likely different from that of children/youth.
Ar ticles Hand searches were conducted on the following journals: European Journal ofHomelessness and the Journal of Social Distress and Homelessness.References were exported to Mendeley Desktop (V1.19.4) and duplicates wereremoved. All titles and abstracts were screened by the first author (NA), with 25%screened by a co-author (SA). There was 99.11% agreement and Cohen’s k = 0.78 101
for titles/abstracts. Disagreements were discussed in detail between NA and SA,and where necessary with the wider review team. Following this, full-texts wereexamined by NA, with 20% reviewed by SA. There was 87.5% agreement andCohen’s kappa= 0.75 for full-texts.For texts that were not accessible, authors were contacted to request the relevanttext, and the British Library catalogue was searched. Modification of eligibility criteria Whilst the eligibility criteria were based upon scoping searches, a proportion of textsduring the systematic search threw into question the rigidity of the eligibility criteria.For example, one text had only three participants under the age of 18 (Oliver andCheff, 2014). Additionally, due to the frequent omission of sociodemographic informa-
tion and homelessness status, and the lack of responses from authors for requestedinformation, a significant proportion of studies were excluded due to insufficientinformation. It was increasingly felt by the research team that potentially insightfulinformation was being excluded partly due to the frequent omission of data but alsothe rigidity of the eligibility criteria. Given the conceptual nature of this review, it wasfelt that relaxing the criteria would not have a marked impact on the results.After discussion with the research team, we decided to address these limitationspragmatically by relaxing two components of the eligibility criteria. The age criterionwas changed so that: 50% or more of the sample are over 18 OR the average ageof the sample was 18 or above. The criterion regarding homelessness was changedso that: 50% or more of the sample meet the specific typology of homelessness
outlined in the eligibility criteria. This led to the number of included texts increasingfrom (Shantz, 2014). Data extraction Data was extracted from included studies into Microsoft Excel pertaining to thefollowing information: author (s) name, author(s) contact details, title, year of publica-tion, publication type (e.g. book chapter, journal article, thesis etc.), country of study,funding source, conflict of interest, aims/objectives, study design, samplingtechnique, sample size, sample age, gender, ethnicity, homeless status (as describedby study), analysis, explicitly reported definition(s) of social capital, reference to othersocial capital research, author(s) conceptualisation of social capital adopted for then=15), to (n=19) (McCarthy et al., 2002; Miller, 2011; Oliver and Cheff, 2014;
(^102) study, measure(s) of social capital, item details of measure, scores of social capitalif a measure, qualitative excerpts of social capital, associated outcome variables,summary of findings, strengths and weaknesses, conclusions. Data analysis Narrative synthesis was used to identify how social capital is conceptualised acrossEuropean Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
adult homelessness research. Grounded upon the guidelines developed by Popay et al.preliminary synthesis and exploring relationships in the data. Developing a preliminary synthesis With particular focus on the data extracted pertaining to social capital, informationwas repeatedly read to familiarise ourselves with the data. Tabulations were madein Microsoft Excel regarding recurring conceptualisations of social capital in theincluded texts. This was done systematically, exploring every text independently;tabulating as exhaustively as possible. Texts were grouped and clustered accord-ingly. Notes were also made regarding whether the study used a qualitative, quan-titative or mixed methods approach to exploring social capital in the primary data. (2006), the narrative synthesis comprised two iterative stages: developing a
These preliminary themes and groupings were discussed with the review team. Exploring relationships in the data Themes were revisited and commonalities were identified across texts. This helpedto reduce the volume of themes and identify the more common and salient themes.The relationships and overlaps between these key themes were explored bothacross texts and within texts. Attention was given to the heterogeneity of includedtexts, identifying the context in which social capital was being conceptualised.Ideas webbing was undertaken (Clinkenbeard, 1991) to better comprehend theconnections between included texts and their conceptualisations of social capital.The ideas webbing was used closely in the development of the proposed framework.
Finalising the framework Analysis was inductive, involving frequent referencing back to the original texts andextracted data. This iterative process allowed a framework to be developed thatlinked closely with information in the original texts. The proposed framework wasthen discussed in depth with the entire review team, alongside a presentation tothe larger multidisciplinary research team. Any feedback was incorporated itera-tively into the framework.
- 104 Study characteristics All included texts (Table 1) were journal articles, apart from two doctoral theses (15;17). In referencing social capital, included texts tended to take one of twoapproaches: texts attempted to measure/quantify social capital (2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 16)or adopted social capital as a lens to frame and interpret data (1; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13;14; 15; 17; 18; 19). European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_
Ar ticles 105
Table 1: Characteristics of included texts.AllocatedAuthor(s)^ Year ofCountryStudy designnumberpubli-of studycation
Sample size^ Sample ageSamplerangemean age(years)(years)
SampleSampleHomeless statusgenderethnicity 1 Curran et^2016 England^ Interventional.comprising a 12week footballprogrammeadopting ethno-graphic andobservationalmethods
n = 34^ 18-45^ N/A^ Male = 100%
N/A^ “The majority ofparticipants were…living in homelessshelters…” 2 Fitzpatrick^2007 U.S^ Census andet al.interview (question-naire format)
n = 161^ 20-80^ N/A^ Female =36%Male = 64%
“Non-white” =“… street and63.4%sheltered homelessspeople”“… residents of, andvisitors to, the 35shelters and soupkitchens... as well aspersons withoutresidence sleeping inpublic places...” 3 Fitzpatrick^2015 U.S^ Interview (question-et al.naire format)
n = 26420-80^ N/A^ N/A(Birmingham,n = 161 andNorthwestArkansas,n = 103)
N/A^ “Visible homeless”- those who arecounted in thepoint-in-time census 4 Irwin et al.^2008 U.S^ In-depth interviews
n = 155^ “above the41.30age of 19”(SD=10.17)
Female =AfricanStreet homeless and34%American =shelter usersMale = 66%67.6%White = 32.4%.
Ar ticles 107
AllocatedAuthor(s)^ Year ofCountryStudy designnumberpubli-of studycation
Sample size^ Sample ageSamplerangemean age(years)(years)
SampleSampleHomeless statusgenderethnicity 8 Miller^2011 U.S^ Focus groups,questionnaires andsecondary data fromcountrywidehomeless manage-ment informationsystem
n = 51At leastN/A^ Female =(12 focus50% ≥ 18100%groupsand mostaveraging 4-5fell between^1 participants)22-40 years^
N/A^ Agency-based shelterusers 9 Mostowska^2013 Norway^ Participantobservation andinterviews
n = ~40^ 23-62^ N/A^ Male = 100%
All participantsRough sleeperswere Polish butnot furtherdetails provided 10 Neale and^2014 England^ Semi-structuredStevensoninterviews (two datacollection timepoints)
n = 30^ 23-62^ 43,00^ Female =17%Male = 83%
White British =Homeless hostel43.4%, WhiteresidentsEuropean =23.3% , Mixedrace = 20%,Black British =10%, BlackCaribbean =3% 11 Neale and^2016 England^ Semi-structuredBrowninterviews (two datacollection timepoints)
Time 1,21-54 (time38,00^ Female =n = 301)30% male =Follow-up,70% (time 1)n = 22Female =27% male =73%(follow-up)
White British =Homeless hostel86.6%, BlackresidentsWestIndian = 6.6%,Mixed race =3.3%, WhiteIrish traveller =3.3%
108 European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
AllocatedAuthor(s)^ Year ofCountryStudy designnumberpubli-of studycation
Sample size^ Sample ageSamplerangemean age(years)(years)
SampleSampleHomeless statusgenderethnicity 12 Neale and^2015 England^ Semi-structuredStevensoninterviews (two datacollection timepoints)
n = 30^ 21-54^ 38,00^ Female =30%Male = 70%
N/A^ Homeless hostelresidents 13 Oliver and^2014 Canada^ Life historyCheffnarratives usingin-depth semistruc-tured interviews,triangulated withparticipantobservations anddocument analysis
n = 8^ 15-21^ 18,38^ Female =100%
N/A^ Shelter users 14 Settem-^2017 U.S^ Interviewsbrino
n = 11^ “Twenties”N/A- “middleaged”
Male = 100%^ White = 91%Street homeless forand Black = 9%10+ years n = 3,emergency sheltern = 2, temporarilystaying at acquan-taince’s n = 1,sometimes lives withmum but most nightssleeps under a bridgen = 1, living in tents inwooded areas n = 4,sleeps in car n = 1
(^2)
110 European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
AllocatedAuthor(s)^ Year ofCountryStudy designnumberpubli-of studycation
Sample size^ Sample ageSamplerangemean age(years)(years)
SampleSampleHomeless statusgenderethnicity 18 Stevenson^2014 England^ Semi-structuredinterviews
n = 40^ 21-54^ 37,00^ Female =28%Male = 72%
White British =Homeless hostel82.5%, BlackresidentsBritish = 5%,Black African =5%, BlackCaribbean =2.5%, WhiteEuropean =2.5%, AsianVietnamese =2.5% 19 Stevenson^2012 England^ Semi-structuredand Nealeinterviews
n = 40^ 21-54^ 35,97^ Female =28%Male = 72%
White British =Homeless hostel82.5%, BlackresidentsBritish = 5%,Black African =5%, BlackCaribbean =2.5%, WhiteEuropean =2.5%, AsianVietnamese =2.5% 1 As confirmed by the author via email² One participant is counted both in street homeless and living in a tent
Ar ticles 111
Table 2: Narrative synthesis of included texts.AllocatedAuthor(s)numberSocialYear ofpublicationrelationshipsSocial groupmembership
ExampleTheme exemplified (non-exhaustive and non-saturated) themebridgingSupportServicesrelationshipsBonding andInterpersonal 1 Curran et al.^2016 ^
Interpersonal“Positive developments in social capital were evidenced within the relationshipsprogramme as the participants appeared to develop friendships, trust,support networks and aspects of social bonding both within and outside ofthe group.” 2 Fitzpatrick^2007 ^ ^ et al.
Bonding and“The bonding form, which promotes homogeneity and group exclusivity, is bridgingexamined using four social affiliation measurements: religious social capital;group participation social capital; trust; and strength of social ties.”“The second capital variable assesses bridging social capital—the kind ofsocial capital that promotes heterogeneity and group inclusivity. Thevariable is operationalized using a four-item scale that asks respondentswhether or not they have closefriends who are different from them in termsof their race, educational background, if the person ownstheir own businessand whether or not they are seen as a community leader.” 3 Fitzpatrick^2015 ^ ^ et al.
Group“The principal independent variables of interest are the social capital membershipvariables. Religious social capital...Another social capital variable includedin this analysis is social trust...A composite group participation measure isused as a proxy for group social capital...Finally, the strength of social tiesis assessed using the Strong Tie Support scale.” 4 Irwin et al.^2008 ^ ^
Bonding and“Social capital takes two distinct forms – bonding and bridging... bonding bridgingsocial capital variables included in the model are trust, religious socialcapital, and group participation. Bridging social capital includes theconnections individuals have with persons different from themselves. Itindicates group heterogeneity and inclusivity. The variable is operationalizedusing a four-item scale that asks respondents whether or not they haveclose friends who are different from them in terms of their race, educationalbackground, if the person owns their own business, and whether or not theyare seen as a community leader.”
Ar ticles 113
AllocatedAuthor(s)numberSocialYear ofpublicationSocial groupmembershiprelationships
ExampleTheme exemplified (non-exhaustive and non-saturated) themeSupportbridgingServicesBonding andInterpersonalrelationships 12 Neale and^2015 ^ Stevenson
Services^ “However, our participants’ reports revealed that caring staff attitudes and a service ethos of explaining rules, regulations and policies to residents werehaving a positive impact on relationships, suggesting that individual hostelscan, to a greater or lesser extent, influence the social capital of theirresidents.” 13 Oliver and^2014 ^ Cheff
Interpersonal“For many of the young homeless women in this study, nuclear families of relationshipsorigin had not provided traditional bonding social capital, but ratherrelationships characterized by instability, abuse, or neglect.” 14 Settembrino^2017 ^
Support^ “Social capital refers to one’s ability to convert social relationships into needed resources...for example, evacuating to a friend’s or family member’shome in advance of a hurricane.” 15 Shantz^2014 ^
Support^ “Friendships with fellow shelter residents or drop-in participants not only fulfill one’s need for human interaction, they also provide concrete support,helping the women to learn about homelessness and the resourcesavailable.” 16 Shinn et al.^2007 ^ ^
Support^ “Measures of social capital included a count of six disruptive events in youth... and three adult measures: child housing resource indicated that therespondent had at least one child who would allow the respondent to staywith him or her.” 17 Smith^2017 ^
Support^ “I used the theory of social capital instead to understand the social networks and social capital of unsheltered men”“Mr. K stated, he finds out information ‘on the streets and being aroundother homeless people. People talk. You would never believe. As far asfood, it’s like who is feeding tonight? Oh Safehouse. That’s how theconversations go.’”
114 European Journal of Homelessness _ Volume 14, No. 2_ 2020
AllocatedAuthor(s)numberSocialYear ofpublicationSocial groupmembershiprelationships
ExampleTheme exemplified (non-exhaustive and non-saturated) themeSupportbridgingServicesBonding andInterpersonalrelationships 18 Stevenson^2014 ^
Services^ “For PHUD who live in hostels, a significant amount of social interaction occurs within shelters, with the staff and other residents. Given Hagan andMcCarthy’s definition, these social interactions are an appropriate forum forbuilding social capital and working towards social inclusion.” 19 Stevenson^2012 ^ and Neale
Interpersonal“To this end, the retrieved relationships data were reviewed line by line and relationshipsmapped to identify emergent themes and concepts which were then linkedto the existing literature and broader theories of social exclusion and socialcapital.”“Partners were thus an important supportive resource. Furthermore, theycould help individuals manage, control and reduce their drug use.”
