Shelley Mallett

Understanding home: a critical review of the literature

In recent years there has been a proliferation of writing on the meaning of home within the disciplines of sociology, anthropology, psychology, human geography, history, architecture and philosophy. Although many researchers now understand home as a multidimensional concept and acknowledge the presence of and need for multidisciplinary research in the field, there has been little sustained reflection and critique of the multidisciplinary field of home research and the diverse, even contradictory meanings of this term. This paper brings together and examines the dominant and recurring ideas about home represented in the relevant theoretical and empirical literature. It raises the question whether or not home is (a) place(s), (a) space(s), feeling(s), practices, and/or an active state of state of being in the world? Home is variously described in the literature as conflated with or related to house, family, haven, self, gender, and journeying. Many authors also consider notions of being-at-home, creating or making home and the ideal home. In an effort to facilitate interdisciplinary conversations about the meaning and experience of home each of these themes are briefly considered in this critical literature review.

The Effects of Peer Group Network Properties on Drug Use Among Homeless Youth

The authors examine how the properties of peer networks affect amphetamine, cocaine, and injection drug use over 3 months among newly homeless adolescents, aged 12 to 20 in Los Angeles (n = 217; 83% retention at 3 months) and Melbourne (n = 119; 72% retention at 3 months). Several hypotheses regarding the effects of social network properties on the peer influence process are developed. Multivariate logistic regression analyses show that higher concentrations of homeless peers in networks at recruitment were associated with increased likelihood of amphetamine and cocaine use at 3-month follow-up. Higher concentrations of injecting peers were associated with increased risk of injection drug use 3 months later. Change in network structure over time toward increased concentrations of homeless peers was associated with increased risk of cocaine use and injecting. Higher density networks at baseline were positively associated with increased likelihood of cocaine and amphetamine use at 3 months.

Reasons women give for abortion: a review of the literature.

The aim was to identify from empirical research that used quantitative or qualitative methods the reasons women give for having an abortion. A search was conducted of peer-reviewed, English language publications indexed in eight computerized databases with publication date 1996–2008, using keywords ‘abortion’ and ‘reason’ (Medline: ‘induced abortion’ OR ‘termination of pregnancy’ OR ‘elective abortion’ and ‘reason’). Inclusion criteria were empirical research on humans that identified women’s reasons for undergoing an abortion, conducted in ‘high-income’ countries. 19 eligible papers were found. Despite variation in methods of generating, collecting, and analysing reasons, and the inadequacy of methodological detail in some papers, all contributed to a consistent picture of the reasons women give for having an abortion, with three main categories (‘Woman-focused’, ‘Other-focused’, and ‘Material’) identified. Ambivalence was often evident in women’s awareness of reasons for continuing the pregnancy, but abortion was chosen because continuing with the pregnancy was assessed as having adverse effects on the life of the woman and significant others. Women’s reasons were complex and contingent, taking into account their own needs, a sense of responsibility to existing children and the potential child, and the contribution of significant others, including the genetic father.

Why do homeless young people leave home

Objective: To describe the reasons homeless young people leave home and differences between males and females.

Moving Out, Moving On : Young People's Pathways In and Through Homelessness

Introduction. Youth Homelessness in Context. Participation and Pathways. Becoming Homeless. On the Street. Using the System. In and Out of Home. Going Home. Conclusion: Interdependence Not Independence.

Reasons women give for contemplating or undergoing abortion: a qualitative investigation in Victoria, Australia.

OBJECTIVE To increase understanding of womens perspectives on considering or undergoing elective abortion. DESIGN Qualitative study. SETTING A large public womens hospital in the state of Victoria, Australia. SAMPLE Sixty women who had contacted a public pregnancy advisory service in Victoria, Australia, seeking information, advice, or appointments in relation to an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy. METHODS Qualitative telephone interviews. The iterative qualitative analysis employed the five stages of a thematic framework approach. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Themes in womens accounts of considering or undergoing elective abortion. RESULTS Womens accounts emphasized their reasons for considering or seeking abortion. Decisions were made in the context of their lives as a whole; influences were usually contingent and multiple. Reasons related to the woman herself, the potential child, existing children, her partner and other significant relationships, and financial matters. CONCLUSIONS This research used qualitative methods to produce the only recent study of its kind in Australia. Womens accounts reveal the complex personal and social contexts within which reproductive events must be comprehended and the thoughtfulness with which they make decisions. Results of this research will assist health-care professionals to increase their insights into womens reproductive experiences.

Neoliberalism, economic restructuring and policy change: Precarious housing and precarious employment in Australia:

Housing, employment and economic conditions in many nations have changed greatly over the past decades. This paper explores the ways in which changing housing markets, economic conditions and government policies have affected vulnerable individuals and households, using Australia as a case study. The paper finds a substantial number and proportion of low income Australians have been affected by housing and employment that is insecure with profound implications for vulnerability. Importantly, the paper suggests that in Australia the economic gains achieved as a consequence of mining-related growth in the early 2000s were translated as greater employment security for some on low incomes, but not all. Enhanced access to employment in this period was differentiated by gender, with women largely missing out on the growth in jobs. For the population as a whole, employment gains were offset by increased housing insecurity as accommodation costs rose. The paper finds low income lone parents were especially vulnerable because they were unable to benefit from a buoyant labour market over the decade 2000–2010. They were also adversely affected by national policy changes intended to encourage engagement with paid work. The outcomes identified for Australia are likely to have been mirrored in other nations, especially those that have embraced, or been forced to adopt, more restrictive welfare and income support regimes.

Changes over time among homeless young people in drug dependency, mental illness and their co-morbidity

Abstract A cross-national survey was conducted among 358 recently homeless young people in Melbourne and Los Angeles. Drug dependence and mental illness were assessed at baseline, 6 and 12 months. At each time point, participants were classified as no condition, drug dependent, having a mental illness or dual condition. Low levels of drug dependence or mental illness or both were reported at each data point. Most young people were classified as neither drug dependent nor having mental illness at baseline and remained so for the 12-month period and few remained drug dependent, or had continuing mental illness or both. Half to two-thirds of young people classified as having one or both conditions were subsequently reclassified as “no condition”. There was no evidence of a consistent pathway from either drug dependence or mental illness to co-morbidity. Most young people reported an absence of mental illness and/or drug dependence at each time point. Improvement from one or both conditions at each transition suggests it may be more effective to provide interventions to address drug dependence and mental health problems to young people early in their experience of homelessness.

Exploring the Bi-directional Relationship between Health and Housing in Australia

Over the last decade, Australia has experienced ongoing housing affordability decline, and this has been experienced unevenly across the population. Because housing affordability directly affects the type, quality and security of housing that individuals can access, it represents both an important potential source and symptom of disadvantage in Australia. This article examines the nature of the relationship between housing affordability and a central human right—health. It asks two essential questions for Australian policymakers: does poor health predict unaffordable housing? Moreover, does unaffordable housing influence individual health? Analysis was based upon the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. We highlight key populations who are most vulnerable to housing affordability problems such as lone parents, their children and older renters, and consider the potential bi-directionality of the pathways between housing affordability and health. We find new, compelling evidence to suggest that such a bi-directional relationship exists between housing affordability and health (especially mental health) in Australia—suggesting that health may influence affordable housing outcomes, while housing affordability may also predict health outcomes. This work opens up new avenues for more causally focused future research in the area.

Physically Violent Mothers Are a Reason for Young People's Leaving Home

In a qualitative study, 302 homeless young people (aged 12 to 20 years) were asked to discuss their reasons for leaving home. Some 103 youth cited physical violence by a parent or stepparent, and of these, 39 cited their mothers or stepmothers violence as the reason for leaving home. Females were more likely than males to report being the target of violence by their mother; however, the converse was true for stepmothers. Several discrete reasons for maternal violence were identified, including maternal personal characteristics and behaviors, issues associated with blended families, or young peoples own behavior. In some cases, young people reported violence by both parents. Their attributions of maternal violence centered on a single dimension of the mother/stepmother or her relationship with a partner. They rarely discussed the contribution that they had made to the conflict or acknowledged the social context that may have been a catalyst for violence.